Dearborn Heights, Michigan, 1,509 students in 6 schools

Westwood Community Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Dearborn Heights get?

About 23.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.5 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Westwood?

6.7 inches on November 12, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.5 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 43 inches.

Q: How does the Westwood snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Dearborn Heights 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 Westwood’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.5 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Westwood 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 Westwood, measured against Westwood's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Westwood close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Westwood’s snow record

23.8inches of snow a winter

2.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.7with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Westwood: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.5school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

2.5Nov

4.3Dec

7.6Jan

7.3Feb

1.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 6.7 in on November 12, 2019
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 43 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 5.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.5 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 Michigan rule

How Michigan counts a lost day

Michigan requires at least 180 days and 1,098 hours of pupil instruction. The first 6 days (or the same hours) lost to conditions outside the district's control, such as severe storms, are counted as instruction; up to 3 more can be approved by the State Superintendent.

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

Next door

Districts near Westwood

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Dearborn Heights School District 7Dearborn Heights	23.8 in	0.7
Dearborn City School DistrictDearborn	23.8 in	0.7
Crestwood School DistrictDearborn Hts	23.8 in	0.7
Garden City School DistrictGarden City	26.2 in	0.8
Melvindale-North Allen Park School DistrictMelvindale	23.8 in	0.7
Taylor School DistrictTaylor	39.5 in	1.4

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Robichaud Senior High School
Westwood Virtual Academy, Inkster
Westwood North Academy, Inkster

Middle

Tomlinson Middle School, Inkster

Elementary

Thorne Elementary School
Daly School, Inkster

Questions

Westwood snow day questions

How much snow does Dearborn Heights get?

What was the biggest snow day near Westwood?

How does the Westwood snow day predictor work?

How does Michigan handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Westwood snow day predictor look?

More winter

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