Festus, Missouri, 3,476 students in 5 schools

Festus R-VI School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Festus get?

About 9.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Festus R-VI?

7.5 inches on February 16, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 17.8 inches.

Q: How does the Festus R-VI snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Festus 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 Festus R-VI’s own big snow morning: 5.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away.

Q: Can Missouri schools hold a remote day instead?

With a DESE approved AMI plan, hours taught at home on a closure day count as school in session, up to 36 hours a year; lost time after that must be made up.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Festus R-VI, measured against Festus R-VI's own big snow morning of 5.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Festus R-VI close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Festus R-VI’s snow record

9.9inches of snow a winter

0.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

5.4 ina big snow morning in Festus R-VI: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

1.3Nov

1.2Dec

3.1Jan

3.8Feb

0.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.5 in on February 16, 2021
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 17.8 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 1.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.2 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 Missouri rule

How Missouri counts a lost day

Missouri requires at least 1,044 hours of actual pupil attendance, plus 36 make-up hours built into the calendar for bad weather. A district must make up the first 36 weather hours and half of any hours beyond that, but never more than 60 make-up hours in total; anything past that is excused.

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

Next door

Districts near Festus R-VI

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Hillsboro R-III School DistrictHillsboro	9.3 in	0.3
Grandview R-II School DistrictHillsboro	9.3 in	0.3
Northwest R-I School DistrictHouse Springs	11.9 in	0.3
Fox C-6 School DistrictArnold	11.9 in	0.3
Mehlville R-IX School DistrictSt Louis	11.9 in	0.3
Lindbergh School DistrictSt. Louis	11.9 in	0.3

The schools

5 schools

Every school in Festus R-VI follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Festus Sr. High

Middle

Festus Intermediate
Festus Middle

Elementary

Festus Elem.

Other schools

Festus Early Childhood Center

Questions

Festus R-VI snow day questions

How much snow does Festus get?

What was the biggest snow day near Festus R-VI?

How does the Festus R-VI snow day predictor work?

How does Missouri handle snow days?

Can Missouri schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

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