Pacific, Missouri, 3,044 students in 9 schools

Meramec Valley R-III School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Pacific get?

About 9.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 12.5 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1 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 Meramec Valley R-III?

8.5 inches on January 12, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 12.5 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 20.3 inches.

Q: How does the Meramec Valley R-III snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Pacific 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 Meramec Valley R-III’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 12.5 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 Meramec Valley R-III, measured against Meramec Valley R-III's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Meramec Valley R-III close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Meramec Valley R-III’s snow record

9.8inches of snow a winter

1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Meramec Valley R-III: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

1.3Nov

1.8Dec

3.8Jan

2.3Feb

0.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8.5 in on January 12, 2019
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 20.3 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 12.5 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 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 Meramec Valley R-III

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Rockwood R-VI School DistrictEureka	11.9 in	0.3	4
Northwest R-I School DistrictHouse Springs	11.9 in	0.3
Union R-XI School DistrictUnion	9.8 in	0.4
Washington School DistrictWashington	9.8 in	0.4
Francis Howell R-III School DistrictO'Fallon	14.4 in	0.3
Parkway C-2 School DistrictChesterfield	9.8 in	0.3

The schools

9 schools

Every school in Meramec Valley R-III follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Pacific High

Middle

Pacific Intermediate
Riverbend Sch.

Elementary

Zitzman Elem.
Coleman Elem., Villa Ridge
Truman Elem.
Nike Elem., Catawissa
Robertsville Elem., Robertsville

Other schools

Doris Hoffman Early Learning C

Questions

Meramec Valley R-III snow day questions

How much snow does Pacific get?

What was the biggest snow day near Meramec Valley R-III?

How does the Meramec Valley R-III 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.