On Friday, some parents in the Carmel school district might not have known about school closings there because of technical difficulties with the district’s automated phone system. And parents in other school districts might have been informed late because of delayed e-mails.

But residents throughout Westchester, Rockland and Putnam who visited LoHud.com or signed up for free text alerts at the website knew by about 6 a.m. which schools were closed and which were dismissing students early.

LoHud.com’s new school closing alert system can be a valuable tool during the frenzy of a snowstorm. In anticipation of a storm, reporters and editors are in the newsroom as early as 5 a.m. compiling lists of known closings of public and some private schools, ensuring closing and early dismissal information is accurate, and providing the latest information on extracurricular activities that could be affected. All that information is constantly updated via a scrolling feed on LoHud.com.

But even if you’re not able to get to a computer, our new text alert service will also send you a message on your cellphone with school closing details in your community.

Save yourself some time — and a potential headache — during the next storm, by signing up for text alerts here: http://www.lohud.com/article/200881210044.