Ottumwa, Iowa, 5,011 students in 11 schools

Ottumwa Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Ottumwa get?

About 21.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 22.9 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Ottumwa?

14 inches on January 13, 2024, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 22.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 41.8 inches.

Q: How does the Ottumwa snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ottumwa 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 Ottumwa’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 22.9 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 Ottumwa, measured against Ottumwa's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Ottumwa close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Ottumwa’s snow record

21.3inches of snow a winter

2.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.5with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Ottumwa: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

7.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

2.3Nov

3.2Dec

9.6Jan

3.3Feb

1.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14 in on January 13, 2024
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 41.8 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 4.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 22.9 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 Ottumwa

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Clear Creek-Amana Community School DistrictOxford	30.2 in	1.4
Indianola Community School DistrictIndianola	33.3 in	1.7
Iowa City Community School DistrictIowa City	22.8 in	0.7
Burlington Community School DistrictBurlington	16.6 in	0.2
Southeast Polk Community School DistrictAltoona	29.6 in	1
College Community School DistrictCedar Rapids	25 in	1.3

The schools

11 schools

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

High

Ottumwa High School
Gateway High School

Middle

Evans Middle School

Elementary

Liberty Elementary School
Douma Elementary School
Wilson Elementary School
Horace Mann Elementary School
Eisenhower Elementary School
James Elementary School

Other schools

Pickwick Early Childhood Center
Ottumwa Virtual Learning

Questions

Ottumwa snow day questions

How much snow does Ottumwa get?

What was the biggest snow day near Ottumwa?

How does the Ottumwa 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.