A few extra hours of sleep, the chance to miss that pesky anatomy test, and a day at Dog Hill in Cherokee Park with a sled and friends. That is the snow day dream.

Toni Konz, an education reporter with The Courier-Journal, knows the joys of snow days, too, but for other reasons. The journalist who covers Jefferson County Public Schools and Jefferson County Catholic Schools isn’t out enjoying the snow. She’s up at 4 a.m. to be the first to break the news on closing and delays to her more than 4,000 Twitter followers.

“Who is this Toni Konz lady that everyone keeps talking about on Twitter?” Trinity High School senior Brady Pfaadt asked his group of friends at lunch. “She’s the snow god,” replied senior Ryan Payne.

This especially bad winter in Louisville has created a significant amount of delays and missed school days – in turn, boosting Konz’s Twitter following. Given that Konz is often first in the know with JCPS’ closing decisions, she has become a celebrity among local high-schoolers.

“It’s been interesting,” Konz said. “I’ve gained over 800 to 1,000 followers since the beginning of this year, and most of them are teenagers from public, private and Catholic schools. More kids are following, which is great. It’s another platform for me to reach out to the people that I cover and maybe get them reading stories they wouldn’t read before.”

A glance at her Twitter feed or a search for her name on a school night where snow is forecasted yields a bevy of questions from students asking if a decision has been made, or just helplessly begging her to cancel school — even though she doesn’t carry that sweet power.

“At five o’clock in the morning Toni Konz makes my heart leap. She says we can go back to sleep — or all of Louisville begins to weep,” Will Ostertag tweeted.

Konz’s rise in popularity began on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Tens of tweets were rolling across her feed per minute, with close to 500 sent in one night.There were hundreds of questions asking if school was cancelled, but some students took it as an opportunity to make jokes.

“Most of the interactions I’ve had by far have been positive,” Konz said. “But there have been a couple of instances where it hasn’t been so great. But, you know, it’s definitely interesting.”

Some tweets were in poor taste. There aren’t many parents on Twitter, and some students thought it was an opportunity to be hurtful.

“I think people want to get off school, and they think harassing a JCPS reporter will help,” said Addison Sternberg, a junior at Assumption High School.

Konz said the majority of tweets were positive, and a lot of them were funny, like one student asking her to prom.

“Toni Konz, summon your powers to get us out of school,” Matthew McDermott tweeted.

“Please come through, Toni Konz,” Alexys Vance tweeted.

Konz’s rising popularity highlights Twitter’s usefulness as a tool for the media to spread information. It gives Konz the ability to connect with her audience.

“I’m getting tweets at three in the morning from students asking if school is closed,” Konz said. “I think it’s so easy for them, because they have their phones in their hands constantly, and that’s just how they interact.  It’s probably a really easy way to get the news.”

Even though many students think Konz is involved in the process of declaring a snow day, she only reports facts from school districts.

“I know by four o’clock, the people who are responsible for making decisions are making a decision as to what they’re going to do,” Konz said. “I have sources within the district that I just start to work and finally will get answer. As soon as I get an answer, I tweet it out on Twitter.”

Despite some negativity, most students appreciate her reporting.

“I think Toni is treated unfairly,” Payne said. “She really does seem like a nice lady. I think she gets harassed sometimes because there aren’t many parents on Twitter, and she’s one of the few adults locally to be on Twitter.”

When asked if she likes the attention, Konz said: “Most of the attention has been positive, and I do appreciate those who follow me. I’m trying to think of ways to use my enhanced presence on Twitter in a way that can be beneficial to others. There have been a couple of negative experiences, and I just hope that teenagers can be a little more aware of what they’re saying on social media and be cautious about that.”

You can connect with the Trinity Echo on Twitter by following our handle @trinity_echo.