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McLean High School students headed home three hours early Monday as officials prepared for severe weather, including possible tornado activity and powerful wind gusts later in the day.

The decision was made a day ahead of the anticipated storm to give students time to travel before roads became potentially dangerous. By late Monday morning, skies had darkened and winds were strengthening.

Three-hour early dismissals are highly unusual, particularly outside snow and ice events. For some students, the schedule change signaled the seriousness of the forecast.

“You really don’t see three hour early releases,” sophomore Vaughn Modlinger said. “It makes it clear this wasn’t just a normal storm. They were trying to get ahead of it.”

All after-school activities, including athletic practices and club meetings, were canceled to keep students from being outside during the worst expected conditions. Teachers condensed lessons and adjusted their plans with little notice.

Students initially welcomed the shortened day, but the mood shifted as they learned more about the forecast.

“Everyone was excited at first,” sophomore Dylan Gaal said. “But when teachers started talking about tornado warnings and strong gusts, it kind of changed the mood.”

Transportation concerns also shaped the decision. Officials sought to get buses off the roads before high winds could make driving more difficult or send debris into travel lanes.

Parents arriving early added to congestion in school parking lots and heightened the sense of urgency around campus. Teachers and staff repeatedly told students to go directly home and remain indoors as conditions worsened.

The dismissal cut instructional time and forced changes across every grade level, but students recognized the safety concerns behind it.

“It’s one of those things where you’d rather be safe than sorry,” Modlinger said. “If they didn’t do anything and the storm got bad, it could’ve been a lot worse.”

As students departed hours ahead of schedule, the rare early release demonstrated how quickly a severe-weather forecast can upend the school day.