The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Southwest, measured against Southwest's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.
The next three school mornings
Will Southwest close tomorrow?
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Sullivan.
Ten winters of school mornings
Southwest’s snow record
11.3inches of snow a winter
1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more
0.3with 4 in or more
2.5 ina big snow morning in Southwest: the top tenth of snowy school mornings
2.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder
0.7Nov
2.3Dec
4.4Jan
3.2Feb
0.5Mar
Average snowfall by month, inches
Biggest day 8.3 in on February 3, 2022
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 21.1 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 2.2 a winter
Measured at a NOAA weather station 9.1 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.
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The Indiana rule
How Indiana counts a lost day
Indiana requires at least 180 student instructional days a school year.
Every school in Southwest follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.
High
Sullivan High School
Middle
Sullivan Middle School
Carlisle Middle School, Carlisle
Elementary
Sullivan Elementary School
Carlisle Elementary School, Carlisle
Questions
Southwest snow day questions
About 11.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 9.1 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.3 with 4 inches or more.
8.3 inches on February 3, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 9.1 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 21.1 inches.
It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Sullivan 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 Southwest’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 9.1 miles away.
Indiana requires at least 180 student instructional days a school year.
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 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.
