At 3:45 a.m. Monday, Ledyard Public Schools Superintendent Jay Hartling was yet again on the phone with his team discussing forecasted temperatures and rates of snowfall.

Facing their fifth storm in less than a month, Hartling and other southeastern Connecticut superintendents made the decision to remain open without delays.

"The estimates looked like it would be worse to delay," Hartling said. "From 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., I was looking out my window saying, 'Holy cow.'"

Between 2 and 7.5 inches fell across the state, with many area towns, including Ledyard, accumulating about 5.5 inches, according to meteorologist Gary Lessor.

While some parents argued road conditions warranted a cancellation or delay Monday, area school officials said they made the right call. They also were quick to say student safety guided the decisions and this winter's abnormally high number of snow days wasn't part of the equation.

"The heavier snow came after we were all here," Montville Superintendent Brian Levesque said before noon. "By the time we leave today, roads will be just fine. A delay would have delayed us into the worst part of the day."

Lessor said the heaviest snow came between 8 and 10 a.m. He said school leaders "did a good thing in the Groton area by sending people at the regular times" compared to districts in the western half of the state that delayed classes and forced drivers to deal with harsher snowfall.

Norwich Public Schools Superintendent Abby Dolliver said that while she thinks about the possibilities during a weather event — "Oh boy, another make-up day" — the snow days piling up play no role in the decision-making.

"We felt we were safe to come in based on conditions and temperatures," she said. "The roads had a little on them, but we're in New England. We didn't have any issues — maybe a few later buses. I prefer to have them later, that means they're taking their time."

Montville parent Theresa Quibble argued "today probably would have been a good one" to cancel schools.

"I'm sure it's not an easy decision, but when it came to this morning it was already coming down hard," she said.

Levesque said if Monday's storm had fallen in January, the district likely would have canceled classes because the snow could have frozen and led to icy roads. But temperatures rose into the 40s and snow in many areas had melted by the end of the school day.

"We make the best decision with all the information we have," Levesque said.

This winter's mix of storms, including four nor'easters in March, have dumped more than 46 inches of snow on the region, about double the area's average, Lessor said.

Asked about the next several days, Lessor said meteorologists were eyeing possible precipitation streaming into the region Friday morning. Another system could come next Monday into Tuesday, he added.

"It would need to come in before 10 a.m." to be snow, he said. "If it comes any later, it's all rain."

b.kail@theday.com