Columbia City, Indiana, 3,690 students in 6 schools

Whitley County Consolidated Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Columbia City get?

About 21.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.9 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 Whitley?

7.6 inches on November 30, 2025, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 32.1 inches.

Q: How does the Whitley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Columbia City 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 Whitley’s own big snow morning: 2.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

Q: How far ahead does the Whitley 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 Whitley, measured against Whitley's own big snow morning of 2.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Whitley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Whitley’s snow record

21.1inches of snow a winter

1.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

2.4 ina big snow morning in Whitley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3.1Nov

2Dec

7Jan

6.6Feb

1.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.6 in on November 30, 2025
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 32.1 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Whitley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Whitko Community School CorporationLarwill	21.1 in	0.4
Smith-Green Community SchoolsChurubusco	26 in	0.7
Southwest Allen County Metropolitan School DistrictFort Wayne	24.5 in	0.4	2
Central Noble Community School CorporationAlbion	31.3 in	0.4
Manchester Community SchoolsN Manchester	19.1 in	0.3
Northwest Allen County SchoolsFort Wayne	26.3 in	0.6

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Columbia City High School

Middle

Indian Springs Middle School

Elementary

Little Turtle Elementary School
Northern Heights Elementary School
Coesse School
Mary Raber Elementary School

Questions

Whitley snow day questions

How much snow does Columbia City get?

What was the biggest snow day near Whitley?

How does the Whitley snow day predictor work?

How does Indiana handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Whitley snow day predictor look?

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.