Belfast, Maine, 1,418 students in 7 schools

Regional School Unit 71 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Belfast get?

About 66.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 8.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Regional School Unit 71?

16 inches on March 14, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 101.2 inches.

Q: How does the Regional School Unit 71 snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Belfast 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 Regional School Unit 71’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away.

Q: Can Maine schools hold a remote day instead?

A remote day counts toward the 175 instructional days if the district provides meals and the day meets the instructional day rules.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Regional School Unit 71, measured against Regional School Unit 71's own big snow morning of 5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Regional School Unit 71 close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Regional School Unit 71’s snow record

66.8inches of snow a winter

8.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3with 4 in or more

5 ina big snow morning in Regional School Unit 71: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.5Nov

12.8Dec

15.6Jan

21.3Feb

11.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 16 in on March 14, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 101.2 in
6 in mornings 1.3 a winter
1 in mornings 14.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.7 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 Maine rule

How Maine counts a lost day

Maine requires a 180 day school year with at least 175 days of instruction. The Commissioner may waive the minimum days on a school board's written application, but only after the district has tried every reasonable way to make the days up.

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

Next door

Districts near Regional School Unit 71

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Regional School Unit 25Bucksport	68.7 in	3.5
School Administrative District 40Union	49.8 in	3
School Administrative District 03Unity	63.9 in	3
Regional School Unit 13Rockland	49.8 in	3
Regional School Unit 12Somerville	70.5 in	4.2
Regional School Unit 22Hampden	68.7 in	3.5	3

The schools

7 schools

Every school in Regional School Unit 71 follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Belfast Area High School

Middle

Troy A Howard Middle School

Elementary

Captain Albert W. Stevens School
Ames Elementary School, Searsmont
East Belfast School
Gladys Weymouth Elem School, Morrill
Kermit S Nickerson School, Swanville

Questions

Regional School Unit 71 snow day questions

How much snow does Belfast get?

What was the biggest snow day near Regional School Unit 71?

How does the Regional School Unit 71 snow day predictor work?

How does Maine handle snow days?

Can Maine schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

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