Gary, Indiana, 1,530 students in 3 schools

Lake Ridge Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Gary get?

About 26.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.8 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 Lake Ridge?

11 inches on February 16, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 42.3 inches.

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

Lake Ridge 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 Lake Ridge snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Gary 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 Lake Ridge’s own big snow morning: 3.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Lake Ridge, measured against Lake Ridge's own big snow morning of 3.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Lake Ridge close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Lake Ridge’s snow record

26.9inches of snow a winter

2.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.7with 4 in or more

3.1 ina big snow morning in Lake Ridge: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

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

2Nov

3.7Dec

8.2Jan

9.6Feb

2.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11 in on February 16, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 42.3 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 5.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.5 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 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 Lake Ridge

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Griffith Public SchoolsGriffith	26.9 in	0.7
Highland School TownHighland	25.8 in	0.9
Gary Community School CorporationGary	25.8 in	0.9
Munster School TownMunster	25.8 in	0.9
Merrillville Community SchoolMerrillville	23.3 in	0.7
City of East Chicago School DistrictEast Chicago	25.8 in	0.9

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Calumet New Tech High School

Middle

Lake Ridge New Tech Middle School

Elementary

Longfellow New Tech Elementary Sch

Questions

Lake Ridge snow day questions

How much snow does Gary get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lake Ridge?

Does Lake Ridge get more snow days than other Indiana districts?

How does the Lake Ridge 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.