Caldwell, Idaho, 5,394 students in 11 schools

Caldwell School District 132 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Caldwell get?

About 14.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 12.3 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Caldwell?

9 inches on February 15, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 12.3 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 37 inches.

Q: How does the Caldwell snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Caldwell 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 Caldwell’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 12.3 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Caldwell 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 Caldwell, measured against Caldwell's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Caldwell close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Caldwell’s snow record

14.1inches of snow a winter

2.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.9with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Caldwell: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.5school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.1Nov

2.3Dec

6.2Jan

3.8Feb

1.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on February 15, 2021
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 37 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 12.3 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 Idaho rule

How Idaho counts a lost day

Idaho requires at least 990 instructional hours for grades 9 to 12, 900 for grades 4 to 8, 810 for grades 1 to 3 and 450 for kindergarten. With local board approval, up to 11 hours of emergency closures for bad weather or facility failures can come off the yearly hours requirement.

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

Next door

Districts near Caldwell

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Vallivue School District 139Caldwell	14.1 in	0.9
Middleton School District 134Middleton	14.8 in	0.4
Nampa School District 131Nampa	16.5 in	0.2
Meridian Joint School District 2Meridian	16.5 in	0.2
Kuna Joint School District 3Kuna	13.8 in	0.1
Boise City Independent School District 1Boise	18.3 in	0.2

The schools

11 schools

Every school in Caldwell follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Caldwell Senior High School
Canyon Springs High School

Middle

Syringa Middle School
Jefferson Middle School

Elementary

Van Buren Elementary School
Washington Elementary School
Wilson Elementary School
Lewis and Clark Elementary
Sacajawea Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School

Other schools

Southwest Idaho Juvenile Detention

Questions

Caldwell snow day questions

How much snow does Caldwell get?

What was the biggest snow day near Caldwell?

How does the Caldwell snow day predictor work?

How does Idaho handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Caldwell snow day predictor look?

More winter

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