Loveland, Colorado, 14,907 students in 32 schools

Thompson School District R-2J Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Loveland get?

About 41.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Thompson R-2J?

17 inches on March 15, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 71.4 inches.

Q: How does the Thompson R-2J snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Loveland 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 Thompson R-2J’s own big snow morning: 3.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Thompson R-2J snow day predictor look?

Three school mornings, as far as the National Weather Service hourly forecast reaches. Weekends and breaks are skipped, so a Friday storm is read for Monday’s buses.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Thompson R-2J, measured against Thompson R-2J's own big snow morning of 3.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Thompson R-2J close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Thompson R-2J’s snow record

41.6inches of snow a winter

3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1with 4 in or more

3.9 ina big snow morning in Thompson R-2J: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

5.5Nov

3.5Dec

8.4Jan

8.4Feb

6.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 17 in on March 15, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 71.4 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 6.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles 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 Thompson R-2J

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Windsor School District RE-4Windsor	36.6 in	1
Poudre School District R-1Fort Collins	56.5 in	1.9
Johnstown-Milliken School District RE-5JMilliken	30.1 in	0.6
St. Vrain Valley School District RE 1JLongmont	43.2 in	1.5
Greeley School District 6Greeley	26 in	0.5
Boulder Valley School District RE-2Boulder	71.9 in	2.5

The schools

32 schools

Every school in Thompson R-2J follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Loveland High School
Mountain View High School
Thompson Valley High School
Berthoud High School, Berthoud
Harold Ferguson High School

Middle

Lucile Erwin Middle School
Bill Reed Middle School
Turner Middle School, Berthoud
Walt Clark Middle School

Elementary

New Vision Charter School
Riverview PK-8, Johnstown
Peakview Academy at Conrad Ball
Berthoud Elementary School, Berthoud
High Plains School
Ivy Stockwell Elementary School, Berthoud
Ponderosa Elementary
Cottonwood Plains Elementary School, Ft Collins
Centennial Elementary School
Sarah Milner Elementary School
Coyote Ridge Elementary School, Fort Collins
Carrie Martin Elementary School
Winona Elementary School
Namaqua Elementary School
Laurene Edmondson Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School
Garfield Elementary School
Truscott Elementary School
Big Thompson Elementary School
B F Kitchen Elementary School

Other schools

Loveland Classical School
Thompson Integrated Early Childhood
Berthoud Early Childhood, Berthoud

Questions

Thompson R-2J snow day questions

How much snow does Loveland get?

What was the biggest snow day near Thompson R-2J?

How does the Thompson R-2J snow day predictor work?

How does Colorado handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Thompson R-2J snow day predictor look?

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.