Watertown, New York, 3,993 students in 8 schools

Watertown City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Watertown get?

About 123.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.2 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 13.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 7.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Watertown?

27 inches on November 19, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.2 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 171.2 inches.

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

Watertown averages 7.5 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 97 percent of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Watertown snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Watertown 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 Watertown’s own big snow morning: 8.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Watertown, measured against Watertown's own big snow morning of 8.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Watertown close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Watertown’s snow record

123.9inches of snow a winter

13.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

7.5with 4 in or more

8.8 ina big snow morning in Watertown: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

9.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 97% of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

9.8Nov

31.2Dec

43.5Jan

27.5Feb

11.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 27 in on November 19, 2022
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 171.2 in
6 in mornings 4.2 a winter
1 in mornings 20 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.2 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 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 Watertown

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
General Brown Central School DistrictDexter	123.9 in	7.5
South Jefferson Central School DistrictAdams Center	123.9 in	7.5
Carthage Central School DistrictCarthage	121.3 in	6
Indian River Central School DistrictPhiladelphia	97.5 in	6.4
Lowville Academy and Central School DistrictLowville	127.4 in	7.7
South Lewis Central School DistrictTurin	186 in	10

The schools

8 schools

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

High

Watertown Senior High School

Middle

Harold T Wiley School
Case Middle School

Elementary

North Elementary School
Knickerbocker School
Ohio Street School
Sherman School
Starbuck Elementary School

Questions

Watertown snow day questions

How much snow does Watertown get?

What was the biggest snow day near Watertown?

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

How does the Watertown 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.