South Amherst, Ohio, 1,727 students in 3 schools

Firelands Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does South Amherst get?

About 32.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Firelands?

12 inches on January 15, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 55.9 inches.

Q: Does Firelands get more snow days than other Ohio districts?

Firelands averages 1.8 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 90 percent of the 582 Ohio districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Firelands snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for South Amherst 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 Firelands’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5.6 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Firelands, measured against Firelands's own big snow morning of 5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Firelands close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Firelands’s snow record

32.7inches of snow a winter

4.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.8with 4 in or more

5 ina big snow morning in Firelands: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 90% of the 582 Ohio districts with a station record.

1.1Nov

5.8Dec

12.6Jan

8.6Feb

2.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on January 15, 2026
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 55.9 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 8.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5.6 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 Ohio rule

How Ohio counts a lost day

Ohio requires hours, not days: 910 hours for full day kindergarten through grade 6, 1,001 hours for grades 7 to 12, 455 for half day kindergarten. Only hours that drop a school below the state minimum must be made up, by extending the school year.

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

Next door

Districts near Firelands

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Amherst Exempted Village School DistrictAmherst	37.5 in	1.5
Elyria City School DistrictElyria	37.5 in	1.5
Clearview Local School DistrictLorain	37.5 in	1.5
Lorain City School DistrictLorain	37.5 in	1.5
Vermilion Local School DistrictVermilion	32.7 in	1.8
Midview Local School DistrictGrafton	37.5 in	1.5

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Firelands High School, Oberlin

Middle

Firelands Middle School, Oberlin

Elementary

Firelands Elementary School, Oberlin

Questions

Firelands snow day questions

How much snow does South Amherst get?

What was the biggest snow day near Firelands?

Does Firelands get more snow days than other Ohio districts?

How does the Firelands snow day predictor work?

How does Ohio handle snow days?

More winter

More for Ohio 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.Ohio winter forecastThe season ahead for Ohio: 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.