Council Bluffs, Iowa, 3,146 students in 4 schools

Lewis Central Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Council Bluffs get?

About 17.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Lewis?

9 inches on January 26, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 41.4 inches.

Q: How does the Lewis snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Council Bluffs 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 Lewis’s own big snow morning: 2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away.

Q: Can Iowa schools hold a remote day instead?

No more than 5 days or 30 hours of the required instruction may be delivered mainly online, unless another section or State Board rule allows more.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Lewis, measured against Lewis's own big snow morning of 2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Lewis close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Lewis’s snow record

17.1inches of snow a winter

1.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.8with 4 in or more

2 ina big snow morning in Lewis: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.8Nov

2.6Dec

5.2Jan

5.2Feb

1.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on January 26, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 41.4 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 3.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.8 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 Lewis

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Council Bluffs Community School DistrictCouncil Bluffs	17.1 in	0.8
Sioux City Community School DistrictSioux City	24.1 in	1.2
Waukee Community School DistrictWaukee	27.8 in	0.9
Dallas Center-Grimes Community School DistrictGrimes	30.8 in	1.4
West Des Moines Community School DistrictWest Des Moines	27.8 in	0.9
Urbandale Community School DistrictUrbandale	27.8 in	0.9

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Lewis Central Senior High School

Middle

Lewis Central Middle School

Elementary

Titan Hill Intermediate School
E A Kreft Primary School

Questions

Lewis snow day questions

How much snow does Council Bluffs get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lewis?

How does the Lewis snow day predictor work?

How does Iowa handle snow days?

Can Iowa schools hold a remote day instead?

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.