School buildings close due to weather-related damage

(WPRI) — A number of schools were closed or shifted to remote learning on Monday due to damage from this weekend’s cold and windy weather.

Smithfield High School announced it will have another virtual day on Tuesday after a tree came down and hit a power line. This not only caused a power outage, but also led to pipes freezing and bursting in some classrooms.

School officials said they expect the building to reopen on Wednesday.

Watch: Crews fix downed power line at Smithfield High School (Story continues below.)

Students at Winters Elementary School in Pawtucket will also learn from home again on Tuesday, according to the district’s website. School officials said cleanup efforts are underway after a “heating coil failure” caused a pipe to burst on the third floor.

The new school had just opened in the fall. Acting Superintendent Lisa Benedetti-Ramzi told 12 News there are widespread impacts in one wing of the building.

“We are trying to determine the cause of the failure and the extend of the damage,” Benedetti-Ramzi said. “It does appear as though weather may have been a factor, but we can’t determine that as a fact at this point. We have engineers coming in and out of the building.”

Watch: Repairs underway at Winters Elementary School

In Middletown, Gaudet Learning Academy and Gaudet Middle School switched to distance learning on Monday due to a heating system issue. The district said the issues have since been resolved and both will be back to in-person learning on Tuesday.

Davisville Middle School in North Kingstown was also closed Monday, although teachers and staff were asked to report.

Schools weren’t the only places impacted by the frigid temperatures. A pipe burst near the baggage claim area at T.F. Green Airport, and there was a report of a pipe that burst on the campus of Brown University.

Many warming shelters stayed open 24 hours to help people combat the cold.