In-person school is out Friday for thousands of students across northwest suburban Chicago as a winter storm moves into the area, with some school districts switching to e-learning and others canceling the academic day altogether.

The Chicago and Northwest Indiana area is under a winter storm warning from overnight Thursday until mid-afternoon Saturday with a forecast that calls for for several inches of snow and blizzard-like conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

“To ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff, Stevenson High School’s campus will be closed [Friday] … due to potential hazardous road conditions and inclement weather,” Adlai Stevenson High School leaders wrote in an electronic message to families of the school located in Lincolnshire.

Similar notifications were sent out by school districts in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Barrington and Lake Zurich — among others.

The National Weather Service issued the winter storm warning Thursday, predicting snow accumulations of 3-inches to 5-inches, with at times, wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Additionally, as the snowfall is expected to taper off by late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, air temperatures are predicted to drop from a high of 35 degrees to a low of -7 degrees.

“Due to the timing of the two waves of the storm, both the morning and afternoon commute will be greatly impacted,” officials at Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214 stated in a message Thursday to district families.

“All schools in District 214 will be closed … Friday,” according to the notice. “After-school activities, athletic events, and programs are canceled through noon on Saturday.”

Stevenson High School is offering remote learning Friday for its more than 4,000 students, and other districts are doing the same.

“Student attendance will be verified by the completion of required assignments, which must be turned in by the beginning of class on … Jan. 17,” Stevenson officials wrote in the message.

Sports, extra-curricular, after school, child care and other programs across area school districts were all canceled.

“We acknowledge the inconvenience closing school may cause and we appreciate your understanding of our need to put the safety of students and staff first,” Barrington School District 220 officials stated in the district’s notification to families.

In Lake Zurich, School District 95 officials announced that each of the district’s eight schools will be closed, with no e-learning planned. As a result of the cancellation, “the district will utilize an emergency day at the end of the school year,” SD95 Kelley Gallt wrote in a message to district families.

Schools were already set to be closed Monday for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. And looking ahead to Tuesday and later next week, school districts announced that officials would continue to monitor the weather as subzero temperatures — bringing with it dangerously low windchill factors — have been predicted.