Prospect, Connecticut, 1,931 students in 4 schools

Regional School District 16 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Prospect get?

About 26.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.3 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Regional School District 16?

11.5 inches on March 8, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.3 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 56.1 inches.

Q: How does the Regional School District 16 snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Prospect 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 Regional School District 16’s own big snow morning: 6.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.3 miles away.

Q: Can Connecticut schools hold a remote day instead?

A remote learning day counts as an actual school session if it meets the Commissioner's remote learning standards; the statute sets no cap.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Regional School District 16, measured against Regional School District 16's own big snow morning of 6.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Regional School District 16 close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Regional School District 16’s snow record

26.5inches of snow a winter

3.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.7with 4 in or more

6.5 ina big snow morning in Regional School District 16: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.9Nov

4.2Dec

7Jan

7.7Feb

5.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.5 in on March 8, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 56.1 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.3 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 Connecticut rule

How Connecticut counts a lost day

Connecticut requires at least 180 days and 900 hours of actual school work, counting no more than 7 hours a day.

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

Next door

Districts near Regional School District 16

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Cheshire School DistrictCheshire	27.7 in	1.3
Naugatuck School DistrictNaugatuck	26.5 in	1.7
Waterbury School DistrictWaterbury	26.5 in	1.7
Regional School District 15Middlebury	26.5 in	1.7
Wallingford School DistrictWallingford	27.7 in	1.3
Wolcott School DistrictWolcott	28.4 in	2.2

The schools

4 schools

Every school in Regional School District 16 follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Woodland Regional High School, Beacon Falls

Middle

Long River Middle School

Elementary

Prospect Elementary School
Laurel Ledge School, Beacon Falls

Questions

Regional School District 16 snow day questions

How much snow does Prospect get?

What was the biggest snow day near Regional School District 16?

How does the Regional School District 16 snow day predictor work?

How does Connecticut handle snow days?

Can Connecticut schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

More for Connecticut 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.Connecticut winter forecastThe season ahead for Connecticut: 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.