Orleans, Massachusetts, 1,236 students in 2 schools

Nauset School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Orleans get?

About 9.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Nauset?

10 inches on January 26, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 21.1 inches.

Q: How does the Nauset snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Orleans 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 Nauset’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

Q: How far ahead does the Nauset 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 Nauset, measured against Nauset's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Nauset close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Nauset’s snow record

9.7inches of snow a winter

1.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.1with 4 in or more

2.5 ina big snow morning in Nauset: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0Nov

1.2Dec

3.9Jan

3.6Feb

0.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10 in on January 26, 2026
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 21.1 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 2.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a 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 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 Nauset

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Monomoy Regional School DistrictChatham	15.3 in	0.4
Dennis-Yarmouth School DistrictSouth Yarmouth	11.6 in	0.6
Barnstable School DistrictHyannis	16.3 in	0.7
Sandwich School DistrictEast Sandwich	29 in	1.2
Mashpee School DistrictMashpee	17.6 in	0.7
Bourne School DistrictBourne	28.4 in	1.2

The schools

2 schools

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

High

Nauset Regional High, North Eastham

Middle

Nauset Regional Middle

Questions

Nauset snow day questions

How much snow does Orleans get?

What was the biggest snow day near Nauset?

How does the Nauset snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Nauset 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.