Chesterton, Indiana, 5,786 students in 10 schools

Duneland School Corporation Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Chesterton get?

About 28.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.1 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Duneland?

9.5 inches on February 16, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.1 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 44.2 inches.

Q: Does Duneland get more snow days than other Indiana districts?

Duneland averages 0.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 80 percent of the 283 Indiana districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Duneland snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Chesterton 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 Duneland’s own big snow morning: 3.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.1 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Duneland, measured against Duneland's own big snow morning of 3.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Duneland close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Duneland’s snow record

28.9inches of snow a winter

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

0.7with 4 in or more

3.3 ina big snow morning in Duneland: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 80% of the 283 Indiana districts with a station record.

2.7Nov

4.3Dec

8.9Jan

10.7Feb

1.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9.5 in on February 16, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 44.2 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 5.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.1 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 Indiana rule

How Indiana counts a lost day

Indiana requires at least 180 student instructional days a school year.

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

Next door

Districts near Duneland

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Portage Township SchoolsPortage	28.9 in	0.7
Valparaiso Community SchoolsValparaiso	22.5 in	0.5
Lake Station Community SchoolsLake Station	28.9 in	0.7
Union Township School CorporationValparaiso	23.3 in	0.7
River Forest Community School CorporationHobart	28.9 in	0.7
Hobart School CityHobart	28.9 in	0.7

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Chesterton Senior High School

Middle

Chesterton Middle School
Westchester Intermediate School
Liberty Intermediate School

Elementary

Liberty Elementary School
Bailly Elementary School
Newton Yost Elementary School, Porter
Brummitt Elementary School
Jackson Elementary School, Valparaiso

Other schools

Trojan Virtual Academy

Questions

Duneland snow day questions

How much snow does Chesterton get?

What was the biggest snow day near Duneland?

Does Duneland get more snow days than other Indiana districts?

How does the Duneland snow day predictor work?

How does Indiana handle snow days?

More winter

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