Ithaca, New York, 5,103 students in 12 schools

Ithaca City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Ithaca get?

About 52.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Ithaca?

11.5 inches on February 3, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 77.3 inches.

Q: How does the Ithaca snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ithaca 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 Ithaca’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.4 miles away.

Q: Can New York schools hold a remote day instead?

A district that would otherwise close for a storm may stay in session remotely under its emergency remote instruction plan, and that day counts toward the 180 days and the hours; districts are not required to do it.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Ithaca, measured against Ithaca's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Ithaca close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Ithaca’s snow record

52.3inches of snow a winter

4.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.7with 4 in or more

2.5 ina big snow morning in Ithaca: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

5school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

4.4Nov

10.5Dec

12.9Jan

13.7Feb

8.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.5 in on February 3, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 77.3 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 10.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.4 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 Ithaca

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Lansing Central School DistrictLansing	69.8 in	1.7
Dryden Central School DistrictDryden	46.4 in	2.4
Cortland City School DistrictCortland	75.9 in	2.4
Homer Central School DistrictHomer	62.7 in	1.8
Newark Valley Central School DistrictNewark Valley	83.6 in	2.5
Owego-Apalachin Central School DistrictOwego	42.3 in	1.3

The schools

12 schools

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

High

Ithaca Senior High School
Lehman Alternative Community School

Middle

Boynton Middle School
Dewitt Middle School

Elementary

Northeast School
South Hill School
Belle Sherman School
Beverly J Martin Elementary School
Caroline Elementary School, Slaterville Springs
Cayuga Heights Elementary School
Fall Creek Elementary School
Enfield School

Questions

Ithaca snow day questions

How much snow does Ithaca get?

What was the biggest snow day near Ithaca?

How does the Ithaca snow day predictor work?

How does New York handle snow days?

Can New York schools hold a remote day instead?

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.