Blackfoot, Idaho, 3,172 students in 9 schools

Snake River School District 52 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Blackfoot get?

About 27.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Snake River?

6 inches on December 17, 2016, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 51.3 inches.

Q: How does the Snake River snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Blackfoot 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 Snake River’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Snake River 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 Snake River, measured against Snake River's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Snake River close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Snake River’s snow record

27.5inches of snow a winter

3.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

2.5 ina big snow morning in Snake River: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

6.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.8Nov

8.9Dec

5.9Jan

7.1Feb

2.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 6 in on December 17, 2016
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 51.3 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 9.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.5 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 Snake River

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Blackfoot School District 55Blackfoot	27.5 in	0.4
Pocatello School District 25Pocatello	38 in	1.2
Idaho Falls School District 91Idaho Falls	47.9 in	0.8
Bonneville Joint School District 93Idaho Falls	47.9 in	0.8
Jefferson County Joint School District 251Rigby	50.7 in	1.6
Madison School District 321Rexburg	60.1 in	2.3

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Snake River High School
Snake River Opportunities High School
Snake River Opportunities Alternative High School

Middle

Snake River Jr High School
Snake River Middle School

Elementary

Snake River Online
Riverside Elementary School
Moreland Elementary School
Rockford Elementary School

Questions

Snake River snow day questions

How much snow does Blackfoot get?

What was the biggest snow day near Snake River?

How does the Snake River snow day predictor work?

How does Idaho handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Snake River 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.