Watertown, Massachusetts, 2,717 students in 5 schools

Watertown School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Watertown get?

About 26.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3 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 Watertown?

14 inches on March 4, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 48.2 inches.

Q: How does the Watertown snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Watertown 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 Watertown’s own big snow morning: 5.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away.

Q: How far ahead does the Watertown 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 Watertown, measured against Watertown's own big snow morning of 5.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Watertown close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Watertown’s snow record

26.2inches of snow a winter

3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.4with 4 in or more

5.8 ina big snow morning in Watertown: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0Nov

3.8Dec

8.7Jan

9.9Feb

2.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14 in on March 4, 2019
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 48.2 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 4 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 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 Watertown

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Newton School DistrictNewtonville	26.2 in	1.4	5
Belmont School DistrictBelmont	26.2 in	1.4
Waltham School DistrictWaltham	26.2 in	1.4
Arlington School DistrictArlington	34.4 in	1.8
Somerville School DistrictSomerville	34.4 in	1.8
Brookline School DistrictBrookline	34.3 in	1.5

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Watertown High

Middle

Watertown Middle

Elementary

Hosmer
James Russell Lowell
Cunniff

Questions

Watertown snow day questions

How much snow does Watertown get?

What was the biggest snow day near Watertown?

How does the Watertown snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Watertown 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.