There will be those who looked at Thursday’s weather forecast and asked themselves, “What’s the big deal?” But there are only few people responsible for making the big decisions — whether or not to release students from school early — that affect the lives of hundreds of students and parents. That responsibility is one that is not taken lightly, and we would like to applaud those who find themselves in those positions.

Thursday’s line of severe weather had individuals, schools and businesses across the state preparing for the worst. Thankfully the only severe weather that made its way to Dallas County was heavy wind and rain. While several area schools and colleges cut the school day short because it looked to be the safest option — even while the sun was shinning outside, we hope parents, students and teachers take time to fully appreciate the dedication to ensuring the safety of our children as school leaders and Dallas County EMA director Rhonda Abbott have.

We are thankful that Selma and Dallas County were spared during Thursday’s storms that stretched throughout the Southeast and we applaud the efforts that were made Wednesday and Thursday morning to prepare parents, students and businesses of the severe weather threat.

The weather is unpredictable — especially in Alabama — and we are just thankful that our area and our children and families were safe during Thursday’s downpour.

And even though all we had was heavy rain the advice that Abbott gave before the storm is something we all should remember. She reminded us to use caution —even when it’s just raining outside. Something we should remember every time it rains, severe weather or not.

“People need to be really cautious with flash flooding,” she said. “As we saw back in September, you don’t necessarily have to be in a low-lying area to be heavily affected by flooding.”

Abbott suggested that residents stay up to date with weather conditions by visiting the national weather service’s website, www.weather.gov as well as the EMA’s Facebook page.