5 Things: School Closures in Merrimack

Here are five things you should know as you start your Monday.

1. There is no school. School has been cancelled in and around Merrimack today. All of Merrimack's public schools, South Merrimack Christian Academy, Merrimack PTA Pre-School and Academy for Science and Design are have all closed due to the predicted weather Hurricane Sandy is expected to bring today. Check with your preschools, kindergartens and daycares for additional closures. Any other closures – schools, businesses churches or otherwise, please feel free to update us all in the comments section below.

2. Speaking of Sandy. Make sure you stay connected with Merrimack Patch throughout Hurricane Sandy. We strive to bring you the best local coverage of the things that matter to you during a storm. One thing you can count on is non-stop coverage of the storm from all media outlets this week, but Merrimack Patch is where you can turn for Merrimack-related stories, news, updates and more should the going get rough. Bookmark our Hurricane Sandy: Merrimack Info Center and don't forget to check out 7 ways to stay connected during the storm and 9 ways you can use Patch to make Merrimack's storm coverage stellar. If you haven't already created an emergency kit, authorities recommend you do, and here are 7 ways to prepare (like, now) if you haven't already.

3. Trick-Or-Treat. At this writing, trick-or-treat is still on for Wednesday night. On Friday, Police Chief Mark Doyle said it would be a wait and see kind of thing and since we've yet to see what happens, we're still waiting. Patch will let you know as soon as we do if this changes.

4. Pet Costume Contest voting. Because we expect our sites to be busy and residents to have bigger things to concern themselves with, we have put off voting in our Pet Costume Contest. The submissions are in, our finalists have been selected and we'll bring voting to you in a couple days. That said, we are still looking for costume submissions for our Best Costume in America contest. Each state finalist wins $250 and the overall winner, chosen from 21 state finalists, will take home a $5,000 grand prize.

5. Weather watch. Here's the latest forecast for Merrimack according to the National Weather Service. This forecast has been changing frequently, but two things are consistent, wind and rain (I'm sure that surprises no one.) Rain, mainly after 7 a.m. Patchy fog. High near 59. Windy, with a northeast wind 18 to 23 mph increasing to 25 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 49 mph. Tonight, rain before midnight, then showers after midnight. Patchy fog. Low around 56. Windy, with a southeast wind 24 to 29 mph decreasing to 17 to 22 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph.