Cortland, New York, 1,970 students in 5 schools

Cortland City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Cortland get?

About 75.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 8.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Cortland?

16 inches on December 17, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 110.9 inches.

Q: Does Cortland get more snow days than other New York districts?

Cortland averages 2.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 51 percent of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Cortland snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Cortland 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 Cortland’s own big snow morning: 3.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Cortland, measured against Cortland's own big snow morning of 3.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Cortland close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Cortland’s snow record

75.9inches of snow a winter

8.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.4with 4 in or more

3.2 ina big snow morning in Cortland: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 51% of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

8.9Nov

17.5Dec

15.8Jan

17.6Feb

12.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 16 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 110.9 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 16.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 8.7 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 New York rule

How New York counts a lost day

New York requires 180 days of session plus 900 hours a year for kindergarten to grade 6 and 990 hours for grades 7 to 12. The Commissioner can excuse up to 5 days closed for extraordinary weather, but only if the district cannot make them up by using all its scheduled vacation days before the June Regents exams.

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

Next door

Districts near Cortland

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Homer Central School DistrictHomer	62.7 in	1.8
Dryden Central School DistrictDryden	46.4 in	2.4
Lansing Central School DistrictLansing	69.8 in	1.7
Ithaca City School DistrictIthaca	52.3 in	1.7
Whitney Point Central School DistrictWhitney Point	43.1 in	2
Newark Valley Central School DistrictNewark Valley	83.6 in	2.5

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Cortland High School

Middle

Cortland Junior High School
Randall Middle School

Elementary

Franklyn S Barry Primary School
Fe Smith Intermediate School

Questions

Cortland snow day questions

How much snow does Cortland get?

What was the biggest snow day near Cortland?

Does Cortland get more snow days than other New York districts?

How does the Cortland snow day predictor work?

How does New York handle snow days?

More winter

More for New York 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.New York winter forecastThe season ahead for New York: 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.