Winter's here. We shiver in the cold but watch the weather forecasts closely. Every night we go to sleep hoping, just hoping, that when the alarm clock goes off the next morning we'll wake to hear those sweet words: "It's snowing. School's closed."

But until the first delightful day comes, it's good to understand the finer aspects of the emergency closing procedures.

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials decide to close or delay schools by 6:00 AM. Early dismissals are announced by 11:00 AM. If no announcement has been made by those times, school's open as normal.

For a two-hour delay, all morning operations such as bus routes take place two hours later. Afternoon activities are not cancelled unless specified.

For an early dismissal, schools end 2 1/2 hours early. All operations involving dismissal of students such as bus transportation occur 2 1/2 hours earlier than normal. All afternoon and evening afterschool activities are cancelled.

Emergency closings are county-wide; if one school has a two-hour delay or early dismissal, all schools do.

The school system uses several sources to make emergency closing decisions. Transportation officials inspect road conditions in various parts of the county and analyze reports by the National Weather Service, Accu-Weather, and MCPS's own Data Transmission Communication Network, a system that uses a satellite dish in Shady Grove to provides long-range forecasts and real-time data on weather conditions in the county.

Schools can be closed for four days before contingency days are added. If five or six days are missed, the school year is extended one or two days in June. If more than six days are missed, the missed days come out of Spring Break.

To stay on top of MCPS emergency closings, call the MCPS telephone information service at (301)279-3673, watch MCPS Cable T.V. on channel 34, or sign up to http://www.schools-out.com for automatic e-mail notification.

More MCPS policies can be viewed at http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/.