Indianola, Iowa, 3,634 students in 6 schools

Indianola Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Indianola get?

About 33.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 13.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Indianola?

10.3 inches on January 25, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 13.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 56.6 inches.

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

Indianola averages 1.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 87 percent of the 323 Iowa districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Indianola snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Indianola 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 Indianola’s own big snow morning: 4.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 13.4 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Indianola, measured against Indianola's own big snow morning of 4.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Indianola close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Indianola’s snow record

33.3inches of snow a winter

3.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.7with 4 in or more

4.1 ina big snow morning in Indianola: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

7.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 87% of the 323 Iowa districts with a station record.

2.4Nov

5.1Dec

11.8Jan

8.5Feb

3.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.3 in on January 25, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 56.6 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 5.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 13.4 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 Indianola

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Norwalk Community School DistrictNorwalk	33.3 in	1.7
Des Moines Independent Community School DistrictDes Moines	32.2 in	1.6	3
West Des Moines Community School DistrictWest Des Moines	27.8 in	0.9
Southeast Polk Community School DistrictAltoona	29.6 in	1
Urbandale Community School DistrictUrbandale	27.8 in	0.9
Johnston Community School DistrictJohnston	30.8 in	1.4

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Indianola High School

Middle

Indianola Middle School

Elementary

Wilder Elementary School
Emerson Elementary School
Whittier Elementary School
Irving Elementary School

Questions

Indianola snow day questions

How much snow does Indianola get?

What was the biggest snow day near Indianola?

Does Indianola get more snow days than other Iowa districts?

How does the Indianola 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.