Urbandale, Iowa, 4,255 students in 6 schools

Urbandale Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Urbandale get?

About 27.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.5 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Urbandale?

10.5 inches on January 26, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.5 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 47.2 inches.

Q: How does the Urbandale snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Urbandale 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 Urbandale’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.5 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 Urbandale, measured against Urbandale's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Urbandale close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Urbandale’s snow record

27.8inches of snow a winter

2.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.9with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Urbandale: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.8Nov

4.7Dec

9.7Jan

7.4Feb

2.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.5 in on January 26, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 47.2 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 4.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.5 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 Urbandale

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Johnston Community School DistrictJohnston	30.8 in	1.4
Dallas Center-Grimes Community School DistrictGrimes	30.8 in	1.4
West Des Moines Community School DistrictWest Des Moines	27.8 in	0.9
Waukee Community School DistrictWaukee	27.8 in	0.9
Des Moines Independent Community School DistrictDes Moines	32.2 in	1.6	3
Ankeny Community School DistrictAnkeny	29.6 in	1

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Urbandale High School

Middle

Urbandale Middle School

Elementary

Olmsted Elementary School
Valerius Elementary School
Webster Elementary School
Karen Acres Elementary School

Questions

Urbandale snow day questions

How much snow does Urbandale get?

What was the biggest snow day near Urbandale?

How does the Urbandale 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.