Oakland, Maryland, 3,455 students in 12 schools

Garrett County Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Oakland get?

About 68.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 8.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 4.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Garrett?

13 inches on January 18, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 96.7 inches.

Q: Does Garrett get more snow days than other Maryland districts?

Garrett averages 4.9 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 96 percent of the 24 Maryland districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Garrett snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Oakland 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 Garrett’s own big snow morning: 5.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Garrett, measured against Garrett's own big snow morning of 5.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Garrett close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Garrett’s snow record

68.6inches of snow a winter

8.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

4.9with 4 in or more

5.1 ina big snow morning in Garrett: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 96% of the 24 Maryland districts with a station record.

6.2Nov

12.2Dec

26.8Jan

11.7Feb

10.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 13 in on January 18, 2022
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 96.7 in
6 in mornings 1.8 a winter
1 in mornings 13.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1 mile 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 Garrett

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Allegany County Public SchoolsCumberland	17.9 in	1.2
Washington County Public SchoolsHagerstown	16.6 in	0.8	6
Frederick County Public SchoolsFrederick	17.7 in	0.5	6
Montgomery County Public SchoolsRockville	7.4 in	0.4
Carroll County Public SchoolsWestminster	16 in	0.7	4
Howard County Public SchoolsEllicott City	11.4 in	0.8	6

The schools

12 schools

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

High

Southern Garrett High School
Northern Garrett High School, Accident

Middle

Southern Middle School
Northern Middle School, Accident

Elementary

Broad Ford Elementary
Yough Glades Elementary
Accident Elementary, Accident
Grantsville Elementary, Grantsville
Crellin Elementary
Friendsville Elementary, Friendsville
Route 40 Elementary, Frostburg
Swan Meadow School

Questions

Garrett snow day questions

How much snow does Oakland get?

What was the biggest snow day near Garrett?

Does Garrett get more snow days than other Maryland districts?

How does the Garrett snow day predictor work?

How does Maryland handle snow days?

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.