Ankeny Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: When is the last day of school for Ankeny?

May 28, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Ankeny get?

About 29.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.3 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Ankeny?

10 inches on January 26, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.3 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 50 inches.

Q: How does the Ankeny snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ankeny 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 Ankeny’s own big snow morning: 3.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.3 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will Ankeny close tomorrow?

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

The Ankeny playbook

How Ankeny calls a snow day

How families hear

“Should weather or an emergency situation result in the closing or delay of school, the district uses several methods to notify parents”

Closing and Delays – Ankeny Community School District

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 24, 2026
Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 1
Last day May 28, 2027

District calendar

Recent snow days

2025 to 2026. Classes canceled at all schools on Friday, Feb 20, 2026.
“Due to inclement weather, classes are canceled at all Ankeny schools”
District notice

Read from Ankeny’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is ankenyschools.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

Ankeny’s snow record

29.6inches of snow a winter

3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1with 4 in or more

3.9 ina big snow morning in Ankeny: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.4Nov

4.3Dec

10.5Jan

8.1Feb

2.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10 in on January 26, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 50 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 5.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.3 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 Iowa rule

How Iowa counts a lost day

Iowa requires at least 180 days or 1,080 hours of instruction, as the board chooses. When a board extends the calendar to make up weather closures, it may excuse seniors who have already met graduation requirements.

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

Next door

Districts near Ankeny

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Johnston Community School DistrictJohnston	30.8 in	1.4
Southeast Polk Community School DistrictAltoona	29.6 in	1
Urbandale Community School DistrictUrbandale	27.8 in	0.9
Des Moines Independent Community School DistrictDes Moines	32.2 in	1.6	3
Dallas Center-Grimes Community School DistrictGrimes	30.8 in	1.4
West Des Moines Community School DistrictWest Des Moines	27.8 in	0.9

The schools

17 schools

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

High

Ankeny Centennial High School
Ankeny High School

Middle

Prairie Ridge Middle School
Parkview Middle School

Elementary

Ashland Ridge Elementary
Rock Creek Elementary
Northeast Elementary
Westwood Elementary School
Heritage Elementary
Southeast Elementary School
Prairie Trail Elementary
Crocker Elementary School
East Elementary School
Northwest Elementary School

Other schools

Northview Middle School
Southview Middle School
Terrace Learning Center

Questions

Ankeny snow day questions

When is the last day of school for Ankeny?

How much snow does Ankeny get?

What was the biggest snow day near Ankeny?

How does the Ankeny snow day predictor work?

How does Iowa handle snow days?

More winter

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