Bardstown, Kentucky, 4,412 students in 13 schools

Nelson County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Bardstown get?

About 8.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 21.5 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Nelson?

7.5 inches on January 6, 2025, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 21.5 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 19.5 inches.

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

Nelson averages 0.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 90 percent of the 127 Kentucky districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Nelson snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Bardstown 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 Nelson’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 21.5 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Nelson, measured against Nelson's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Nelson close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Nelson’s snow record

8.7inches of snow a winter

1.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.6with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Nelson: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 90% of the 127 Kentucky districts with a station record.

0.2Nov

1.6Dec

3.6Jan

1.6Feb

1.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.5 in on January 6, 2025
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 19.5 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 2.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 21.5 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 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 Nelson

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Spencer County School DistrictTaylorsville	12.3 in	0.3
Bullitt County School DistrictShepherdsville	8.7 in	0.6	All made up
Marion County School DistrictLebanon	11.7 in	0.2
Hardin County School DistrictElizabethtown	7.9 in	0.1	5
Shelby County School DistrictShelbyville	8.4 in	0.1
Jefferson County School DistrictLouisville	11.7 in	0.3

The schools

13 schools

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

High

Nelson County High School
Thomas Nelson High School
Heartland Youth Village
The Up Center

Middle

Old Kentucky Home Middle School
Bloomfield Middle School, Bloomfield

Elementary

Foster Heights Elementary School
Coxs Creek Elementary School, Coxs Creek
Boston School, Boston
The New Haven School, New Haven
Bloomfield Elementary School, Bloomfield

Other schools

Nelson County Early Learning Center
The Academy at Horizons

Questions

Nelson snow day questions

How much snow does Bardstown get?

What was the biggest snow day near Nelson?

Does Nelson get more snow days than other Kentucky districts?

How does the Nelson 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.