Denton, Maryland, 5,676 students in 10 schools

Caroline County Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Denton get?

About 9.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 20.1 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Caroline?

11 inches on January 4, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 20.1 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 19.5 inches.

Q: How does the Caroline snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Denton 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 Caroline’s own big snow morning: 4.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 20.1 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Caroline snow day predictor look?

Three school mornings, as far as the National Weather Service hourly forecast reaches. Weekends and breaks are skipped, so a Friday storm is read for Monday’s buses.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Caroline, measured against Caroline's own big snow morning of 4.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Caroline close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Caroline’s snow record

9.3inches of snow a winter

1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.5with 4 in or more

4.9 ina big snow morning in Caroline: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0Nov

1Dec

5.9Jan

2.2Feb

0.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11 in on January 4, 2022
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 19.5 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 1.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 20.1 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 Maryland rule

How Maryland counts a lost day

Maryland requires at least 180 school days and 1,080 hours within 10 months, with days of at least 3 hours. On a county board's application showing it tried to comply, the State Board may shorten the year when severe weather or a disaster prevented normal attendance, without cutting state or local funding.

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

Next door

Districts near Caroline

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Talbot County Public SchoolsEaston	9.5 in	0.5
Queen Annes County Public SchoolsCentreville	11.5 in	0.6
Dorchester County Public SchoolsCambridge	9.5 in	0.5
Wicomico County Public SchoolsSalisbury	8.1 in	0.6
Anne Arundel County Public SchoolsAnnapolis	10.6 in	0.5	3
Calvert County Public SchoolsPrince Frederick	8.3 in	0.4

The schools

10 schools

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

High

North Caroline High School, Ridgely
Colonel Richardson High School, Federalsburg
Caroline Career & Technology Center, Ridgely

Middle

Lockerman Middle School
Colonel Richardson Middle School, Federalsburg

Elementary

Greensboro Elementary School, Greensboro
Denton Elementary School
Ridgely Elementary School, Ridgely
Federalsburg Elementary School, Federalsburg
Preston Elementary School, Preston

Questions

Caroline snow day questions

How much snow does Denton get?

What was the biggest snow day near Caroline?

How does the Caroline snow day predictor work?

How does Maryland handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Caroline snow day predictor look?

More winter

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