The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Western, measured against Western's own big snow morning of 2.8 inches.
The next three school mornings
Will Western close tomorrow?
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Russiaville.
Ten winters of school mornings
Western’s snow record
25.2inches of snow a winter
2.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more
0.3with 4 in or more
2.8 ina big snow morning in Western: the top tenth of snowy school mornings
5.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder
3.1Nov
5Dec
8.1Jan
5.9Feb
2.6Mar
Average snowfall by month, inches
Biggest day 6.3 in on December 30, 2017
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 38.6 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 4.5 a winter
Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.7 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 Western follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.
High
Western High School
Middle
Western Middle School
Elementary
Western Intermediate School
Western Primary School
Questions
Western snow day questions
About 25.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.7 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 0.3 with 4 inches or more.
6.3 inches on December 30, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.7 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 38.6 inches.
It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Russiaville 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 Western’s own big snow morning: 2.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.7 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.
