Patriot, Ohio, 2,161 students in 9 schools

Gallia County Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Patriot get?

About 7.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.8 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Gallia?

6 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.8 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 16.7 inches.

Q: How does the Gallia snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Patriot 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 Gallia’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.8 miles away.

Q: Can Ohio schools hold a remote day instead?

A school can make up the hours of up to three closed days online, including for hazardous weather, if its board adopted a plan by August 1; using it is optional.

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

The next three school mornings

Will Gallia close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Gallia’s snow record

7.1inches of snow a winter

1.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

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

0.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.1Nov

1.2Dec

3.7Jan

1.9Feb

0.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 6 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 16.7 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 2.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.8 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 Gallia

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Gallipolis City School DistrictGallipolis	7.1 in	0.4
Oak Hill Union Local School DistrictOak Hill	15.5 in	0.5
Jackson City School DistrictJackson	15.5 in	0.5
Rock Hill Local School DistrictIronton	3.5 in	0.3
Wellston City School DistrictWellston	15.5 in	0.5
Minford Local School DistrictMinford	7.4 in	0.4

The schools

9 schools

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

High

River Valley High School, Bidwell
South Gallia High School, Crown City
Southern Ohio Digital Academy, Rio Grande

Middle

River Valley Middle School, Bidwell
South Gallia Middle School, Crown City

Elementary

Vinton Elementary School, Vinton
Addaville Elementary School, Gallipolis
Hannan Trace Elementary School, Crown City
Southwestern Elementary School

Questions

Gallia snow day questions

How much snow does Patriot get?

What was the biggest snow day near Gallia?

How does the Gallia snow day predictor work?

How does Ohio handle snow days?

Can Ohio schools hold a remote day instead?

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.