Morehead, Kentucky, 3,411 students in 10 schools

Rowan County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Morehead get?

About 10.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Rowan?

7.1 inches on January 7, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 23.6 inches.

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

Rowan averages 0.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 70 percent of the 127 Kentucky districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Rowan snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Morehead 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 Rowan’s own big snow morning: 3.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Rowan, measured against Rowan's own big snow morning of 3.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Rowan close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Rowan’s snow record

10.7inches of snow a winter

1.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

3.4 ina big snow morning in Rowan: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 70% of the 127 Kentucky districts with a station record.

0.3Nov

1.4Dec

4.9Jan

2.1Feb

1.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.1 in on January 7, 2022
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 23.6 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 3.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.5 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 Rowan

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Montgomery County School DistrictMount Sterling	7.4 in	0.1
Carter County School DistrictGrayson	12.7 in	0.5
Clark County School DistrictWinchester	7.4 in	0.1
Johnson County School DistrictPaintsville	10.1 in	0.7
Boyd County School DistrictAshland	12.3 in	0.4
Ashland Independent School DistrictAshland	12.3 in	0.4

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Rowan County Senior High School
Bluegrass Discovery Academy High
Morehead Youth Development Center

Middle

Rowan County Middle School
Bluegrass Discovery Academy Middle

Elementary

McBrayer Elementary School
Rodburn Elementary School
Clearfield Elementary School, Clearfield
Tilden Hogge Elementary School

Other schools

Rowan County Preschool Center

Questions

Rowan snow day questions

How much snow does Morehead get?

What was the biggest snow day near Rowan?

Does Rowan get more snow days than other Kentucky districts?

How does the Rowan 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.