Marshalltown, Iowa, 5,177 students in 10 schools

Marshalltown Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Marshalltown get?

About 27.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.1 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 0.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Marshalltown?

7.9 inches on January 15, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.1 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 44.4 inches.

Q: How does the Marshalltown snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown’s own big snow morning: 3.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.1 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 Marshalltown, measured against Marshalltown's own big snow morning of 3.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Marshalltown close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Marshalltown’s snow record

27.2inches of snow a winter

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

0.8with 4 in or more

3.7 ina big snow morning in Marshalltown: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

11.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

1.8Nov

5.2Dec

9.1Jan

6.8Feb

3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.9 in on January 15, 2022
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 44.4 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.1 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 Marshalltown

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Ames Community School DistrictAmes	28.3 in	1.3
Southeast Polk Community School DistrictAltoona	29.6 in	1
Cedar Falls Community School DistrictCedar Falls	35.6 in	1.5
Ankeny Community School DistrictAnkeny	29.6 in	1
Waterloo Community School DistrictWaterloo	34.5 in	1.4
Johnston Community School DistrictJohnston	30.8 in	1.4

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Marshalltown High School
Marshalltown Virtual Academy

Middle

B R Miller Middle School
Lenihan Intermediate School

Elementary

Woodbury Elementary School
Fisher Elementary School
Franklin Elementary Sch
J C Hoglan Elementary School
Anson Elementary School
Rogers Elementary School

Questions

Marshalltown snow day questions

How much snow does Marshalltown get?

What was the biggest snow day near Marshalltown?

How does the Marshalltown 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.