Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 5,749 students in 10 schools

College Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Cedar Rapids get?

About 25 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.9 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near College?

10.7 inches on December 30, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.9 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 46.1 inches.

Q: Does College get more snow days than other Iowa districts?

College averages 1.3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 66 percent of the 323 Iowa districts with a station record.

Q: How does the College snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Cedar Rapids 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 College’s own big snow morning: 4.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in College, measured against College's own big snow morning of 4.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will College close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

College’s snow record

25inches of snow a winter

2.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

4.7 ina big snow morning in College: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 66% of the 323 Iowa districts with a station record.

1.3Nov

5.6Dec

8.5Jan

4.6Feb

3.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.7 in on December 30, 2020
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 46.1 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 4.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.9 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 College

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Cedar Rapids Community School DistrictCedar Rapids	33.5 in	1.8	3
Linn-Mar Community School DistrictMarion	33.5 in	1.8
Clear Creek-Amana Community School DistrictOxford	30.2 in	1.4
Iowa City Community School DistrictIowa City	22.8 in	0.7
Muscatine Community School DistrictMuscatine	28.7 in	0.8
Western Dubuque County Community School DistrictFarley	26.3 in	1.1

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Prairie High School

Middle

Prairie Point
Prairie Creek

Elementary

Prairie Hill Elementary School
Prairie Ridge Elementary
Prairie View Elementary School
Prairie Crest Elementary
Prairie Heights Elementary School

Other schools

Prairie Early Childhood Center
Prairie Edge

Questions

College snow day questions

How much snow does Cedar Rapids get?

What was the biggest snow day near College?

Does College get more snow days than other Iowa districts?

How does the College 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.