Sudbury, Massachusetts, 2,539 students in 5 schools

Sudbury School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Sudbury get?

About 45 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Sudbury?

18.5 inches on February 2, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 69.2 inches.

Q: Does Sudbury get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

Sudbury averages 2.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 56 percent of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Sudbury snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Sudbury 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 Sudbury’s own big snow morning: 5.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Sudbury, measured against Sudbury's own big snow morning of 5.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Sudbury close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Sudbury’s snow record

45inches of snow a winter

5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.1with 4 in or more

5.2 ina big snow morning in Sudbury: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 56% of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

0Nov

7.5Dec

14.6Jan

13.5Feb

7.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 18.5 in on February 2, 2021
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 69.2 in
6 in mornings 1.3 a winter
1 in mornings 8.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.9 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 Sudbury

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Maynard School DistrictMaynard	45 in	2.1
Lincoln-Sudbury School DistrictSudbury	45 in	2.1
Wayland School DistrictWayland	45 in	2.1
Marlborough School DistrictMarlborough	39.4 in	1.4
Acton-Boxborough Regional School DistrictActon	48.7 in	2.4
Hudson School DistrictHudson	39.4 in	1.4

The schools

5 schools

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

Middle

Ephraim Curtis Middle

Elementary

Peter Noyes
Israel Loring School
Josiah Haynes
General John Nixon Elementary

Questions

Sudbury snow day questions

How much snow does Sudbury get?

What was the biggest snow day near Sudbury?

Does Sudbury get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

How does the Sudbury snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

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.