Waterloo, New York, 1,477 students in 4 schools

Waterloo Central School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Waterloo get?

About 42.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Waterloo?

20.2 inches on March 16, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 64.2 inches.

Q: How does the Waterloo snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Waterloo 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 Waterloo’s own big snow morning: 2.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.7 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 Waterloo, measured against Waterloo's own big snow morning of 2.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Waterloo close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Waterloo’s snow record

42.3inches of snow a winter

4.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.2with 4 in or more

2.3 ina big snow morning in Waterloo: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

3.8Nov

8.6Dec

10.6Jan

10.2Feb

8.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 20.2 in on March 16, 2017
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 64.2 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 10.3 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 Waterloo

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Seneca Falls Central School DistrictSeneca Falls	73.1 in	2.7
Geneva City School DistrictGeneva	42.3 in	1.2
Phelps-Clifton Springs Central School DistrictClifton Springs	42.3 in	1.2
Auburn City School DistrictAuburn	98.4 in	3.9
Newark Central School DistrictNewark	65.7 in	2.3
Penn Yan Central School DistrictPenn Yan	54.2 in	1.3

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Waterloo High School

Middle

Waterloo Middle School

Elementary

Skoi-Yase School
La Fayette School

Questions

Waterloo snow day questions

How much snow does Waterloo get?

What was the biggest snow day near Waterloo?

How does the Waterloo 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.