Bolton, Massachusetts, 3,031 students in 6 schools

Nashoba School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Bolton get?

About 39.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.2 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Nashoba?

14.5 inches on February 2, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.2 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 61.7 inches.

Q: How does the Nashoba snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Bolton 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 Nashoba’s own big snow morning: 3.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.2 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Nashoba 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 Nashoba, measured against Nashoba's own big snow morning of 3.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Nashoba close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Nashoba’s snow record

39.4inches of snow a winter

4.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.4with 4 in or more

3.9 ina big snow morning in Nashoba: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.3Nov

6.3Dec

14.4Jan

11.9Feb

3.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14.5 in on February 2, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 61.7 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 7.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.2 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 Massachusetts rule

How Massachusetts counts a lost day

Massachusetts requires a 185 day calendar, at least 180 days actually held, and 900 hours for elementary or 990 hours for secondary students. Every day lost through March 31 is made up with full rescheduled days; after March 31, days are made up until 180 or the scheduled 185th day, whichever comes first.

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

Next door

Districts near Nashoba

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Hudson School DistrictHudson	39.4 in	1.4
Clinton School DistrictClinton	41.4 in	2.1
Harvard School DistrictHarvard	48.7 in	2.4
Marlborough School DistrictMarlborough	39.4 in	1.4
Maynard School DistrictMaynard	45 in	2.1
Acton-Boxborough Regional School DistrictActon	48.7 in	2.4

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Nashoba Regional

Middle

Luther Burbank Middle School, Lancaster
Hale, Stow

Elementary

Florence Sawyer School
Center School, Stow
Mary Rowlandson Elementary, Lancaster

Questions

Nashoba snow day questions

How much snow does Bolton get?

What was the biggest snow day near Nashoba?

How does the Nashoba snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Nashoba snow day predictor look?

More winter

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