Durango, Colorado, 5,146 students in 13 schools

Durango School District 9-R Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Durango get?

About 54 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Durango 9-R?

12.8 inches on January 8, 2024, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 114.9 inches.

Q: Does Durango 9-R get more snow days than other Colorado districts?

Durango 9-R averages 2.9 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 88 percent of the 177 Colorado districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Durango 9-R snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Durango through the night and the 5 to 8 am bus run, adds winter alerts and the Winter Storm Severity Index, and measures the snow against Durango 9-R’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Durango 9-R, measured against Durango 9-R's own big snow morning of 5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Durango 9-R close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Durango.

Ten winters of school mornings

Durango 9-R’s snow record

54inches of snow a winter

6.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.9with 4 in or more

5 ina big snow morning in Durango 9-R: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 88% of the 177 Colorado districts with a station record.

2.8Nov

9.8Dec

17.1Jan

15.9Feb

7.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.8 in on January 8, 2024
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 114.9 in
6 in mornings 1.4 a winter
1 in mornings 10.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile away. Mornings are the 7 am snow reading on a weekday from December 1 through March 31, over the ten winters from 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026, from NOAA GHCN Daily.

The Colorado rule

How Colorado counts a lost day

Colorado requires at least 160 days, with 1,080 scheduled hours in secondary school and 990 in elementary. The scheduled hours can drop to 1,056 (secondary), 968 (elementary), 870 (full-day kindergarten) or 435 (half-day kindergarten) to cover conferences, staff training and closings the board judges necessary for student health, safety or welfare.

The Colorado rules in the agency’s own words, and every Colorado district

Next door

Districts near Durango 9-R

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Montrose County School District RE-1JMontrose	23.1 in	0.7
Delta County School District 50JDelta	8.1 in	0.1
Mesa County Valley School District 51Grand Junction	7.8 in	0
Roaring Fork School District RE-1Carbondale	45.2 in	1
Garfield School District RE-2Rifle	24.6 in	0.4
Fremont Re-1Canon City	28.4 in	0.9

The schools

13 schools

Every school in Durango 9-R follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Durango High School
Durango Big Picture High School

Middle

Escalante Middle School
Miller Middle School

Elementary

Park Elementary School
Riverview Elementary School
Needham Elementary School
Florida Mesa Elementary School
Animas Valley Elementary School
The Juniper School
Sunnyside Elementary School
Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary School, Hesperus

Other schools

Colorado Connections Academy @ Durango

Questions

Durango 9-R snow day questions

How much snow does Durango get?

What was the biggest snow day near Durango 9-R?

Does Durango 9-R get more snow days than other Colorado districts?

How does the Durango 9-R snow day predictor work?

How does Colorado handle snow days?

More winter

More for Colorado snow days

Snow day predictorClosing and delay odds for any ZIP, with the snowiest districts in the country.Snow depth mapHow much snow is on the ground right now, measured, across the country.First snow datesWhen the first measurable snow usually lands where you live.Frozen pipesThe nights cold enough to freeze a pipe, and what to do before one.Snow plow trackerWhere the plows are during a storm, city by city.Colorado winter forecastThe season ahead for Colorado: snowfall, cold and the first snow.

A residential street under deep snow on a bright blue morning, cars parked along the curb buried into smooth white mounds, one set of tire tracks down the middle — The morning after a big one: cars buried to the mirrors and one set of tracks down the middle. A street like this is a closing, no debate. Photo, Fairfax, Virginia, January 2016: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY 4.0

The odds are a forecast read, and the superintendent makes the call: the district’s own announcement is the one to follow.