Atlanta ? Fearing that Hurricanes Rita and Katrina will result in a shortage of diesel fuel, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue on Friday asked schools across the state to close their doors Monday and Tuesday in what he described as “early snow days.”

Perdue requested the closures during an afternoon conference call with state school superintendents. Word filtered out to parents through the evening, dismaying some who said they would be forced to scramble to find child care.

Perdue warned Georgians that Rita would affect “a significant portion” of the state’s refining capacity and potentially interrupt fuel supply. He said he hoped that an array of conservation strategies – including the unprecedented measure of closing schools – would avert a crisis in the coming days and weeks.