Muscatine, Iowa, 4,530 students in 9 schools

Muscatine Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Muscatine get?

About 28.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.3 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.2 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 Muscatine?

7.5 inches on November 26, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.3 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 46.9 inches.

Q: How does the Muscatine snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Muscatine 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 Muscatine’s own big snow morning: 3.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.3 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 Muscatine, measured against Muscatine's own big snow morning of 3.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Muscatine close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Muscatine’s snow record

28.7inches of snow a winter

3.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.8with 4 in or more

3.1 ina big snow morning in Muscatine: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

8.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

2.7Nov

5.7Dec

8.6Jan

5.6Feb

4.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.5 in on November 26, 2018
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 46.9 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 5.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.3 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 Muscatine

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Davenport Community School DistrictDavenport	24.8 in	1	1
Iowa City Community School DistrictIowa City	22.8 in	0.7
North Scott Community School DistrictEldridge	33.3 in	1.1
Bettendorf Community School DistrictBettendorf	24.8 in	1
Pleasant Valley Community School DistrictBettendorf	24.8 in	1
Clear Creek-Amana Community School DistrictOxford	30.2 in	1.4

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Muscatine High School

Middle

Susan Clark Junior High

Elementary

McKinley Elementary School
Jefferson Elementary School
Madison Elementary School
Grant Elementary School
Franklin Elementary School
Mulberry Elementary School

Other schools

Muskie Early Learning Center

Questions

Muscatine snow day questions

How much snow does Muscatine get?

What was the biggest snow day near Muscatine?

How does the Muscatine 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.