Paducah, Kentucky, 6,891 students in 14 schools

McCracken County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Paducah get?

About 7.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.1 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near McCracken?

9 inches on February 15, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.1 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 14 inches.

Q: Does McCracken get more snow days than other Kentucky districts?

McCracken averages 0.3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 51 percent of the 127 Kentucky districts with a station record.

Q: How does the McCracken snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Paducah 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 McCracken’s own big snow morning: 3.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.1 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in McCracken, measured against McCracken's own big snow morning of 3.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will McCracken close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

McCracken’s snow record

7.1inches of snow a winter

0.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.3with 4 in or more

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

0.4school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 51% of the 127 Kentucky districts with a station record.

0.6Nov

0.5Dec

3.6Jan

1.9Feb

0.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on February 15, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 14 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 1.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.1 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 Kentucky rule

How Kentucky counts a lost day

Kentucky requires at least 1,062 instructional hours on at least 170 student attendance days. After an emergency a board may amend its calendar and lengthen or shorten the remaining days by 30 minutes or more, as long as the year still meets the requirement.

The Kentucky rules in the agency’s own words, and every Kentucky district

Next door

Districts near McCracken

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Graves County School DistrictMayfield	7.1 in	0.3
Marshall County School DistrictBenton	6.2 in	0.4
Calloway County School DistrictMurray	6.2 in	0.4
Christian County School DistrictHopkinsville	6.3 in	0.1
Hopkins County School DistrictMadisonville	4.7 in	0
Henderson County School DistrictHenderson	7.7 in	0.2

The schools

14 schools

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

High

McCracken County High School

Middle

Lone Oak Middle School
Heath Middle School, West Paducah
Reidland Middle School

Elementary

Concord Elementary School
Reidland Elementary School
Lone Oak Elementary School
Heath Elementary School, West Paducah
Hendron Lone Oak Elementary School
Lone Oak Intermediate School
Reidland Intermediate School

Other schools

McCracken Open Campus School, West Paducah
McCracken Regional School
West KY Technical College

Questions

McCracken snow day questions

How much snow does Paducah get?

What was the biggest snow day near McCracken?

Does McCracken get more snow days than other Kentucky districts?

How does the McCracken snow day predictor work?

How does Kentucky handle snow days?

More winter

More for Kentucky 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.Kentucky winter forecastThe season ahead for Kentucky: 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.