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Expect more ice, school closures Friday Thursday Jan 5, 2017 at 6:20 PM Jan 5, 2017 at 6:20 PM By Nick Morgan For the Tidings Icy roads and school closures will continue Friday. Ashland and Medford schools announced a fourth day of canceled classes on Friday.  Central Point and Butte Falls schools also will be closed Friday, as will St. Mary's and Grace Christian schools and Cascade Christian High Schools. "Our facilities crews spent today working to prepare campuses for the return of staff and students," the Ashland School District explained on its website. "After hours of clearing snow from parking lots and walkways and inspecting buildings, our facilities are not ready to safely resume classes." "Despite our facilities crews working day and night to clear the snow, there is more work to be done," the Medford school district said. "We are confident that the work of our crews and the snow melt expected this weekend will make our campuses safe for school to resume on Monday." Meteorologist Brad Schaaf with the National Weather Service said Friday morning will be bitterly cold. "Ashland might even drop into single digits," Schaaf said. "Trying to clear all the snow from all 19 locations is a daunting task," said school district spokeswoman Natalie Hurd. The district doesn't have the equipment and manpower needed to quickly remove snow that fell at a rate the valley hasn't seen in nearly 100 years, she said. The district owns one tractor, typically used for excavation, and rented another today to clear parking lots. "We're not a district that's equipped to handle that type of accumulation," Hurd said. "We value instructional hours and having kids in school, but we just can't do it at the expense of student and staff safety." A team of school administrators and bus drivers typically makes a decision about school closures by 5:15 a.m., according to Hurd, but throughout the week the school has made its call the night before, for different reasons each day. "It's kind of been a different story every day of this storm," Hurd said. Wednesday's classes were canceled after Tuesday's snowfall made it obvious roads would be unsafe. Thursday's classes were canceled because of the freeze and concern for walkers as well as drivers. And Friday's classes were canceled because of facility and sidewalk concerns. Warmer temperatures and moderate to heavy rainfall are forecast this weekend, according to Schaaf, with some slushy conditions expected Saturday morning followed by as much as 1.75 inches of rain. Freezing rain may occur in the Butte Falls and Prospect areas Saturday. Meteorologists are watching for potential urban and small-stream flooding, Schaaf said, caused by two weather systems hitting Northern California that may spread to Southern Oregon. The first system will hit Saturday, and the second, bringing another 1.75 inches, is expected Tuesday. The Weather Service will issue a flood watch once it's confident of the forecast, according to Schaaf. — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.