Sugarcreek, Ohio, 1,057 students in 5 schools

Garaway Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Sugarcreek get?

About 21.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Garaway?

9 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 31.8 inches.

Q: How does the Garaway snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Sugarcreek 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 Garaway’s own big snow morning: 2.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5 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 Garaway, measured against Garaway's own big snow morning of 2.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Garaway close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Garaway’s snow record

21.1inches of snow a winter

2.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.6with 4 in or more

2.6 ina big snow morning in Garaway: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.5Nov

5.1Dec

7.5Jan

4.8Feb

2.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 31.8 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 4.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5 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 Garaway

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Dover City School DistrictDover	21.1 in	0.6
East Holmes Local School DistrictMillersburg	20.3 in	0.6
New Philadelphia City School DistrictNew Philadelphia	21.1 in	0.6
Fairless Local School DistrictBrewster	21.1 in	0.6
Tuscarawas Valley Local School DistrictZoarville	21.1 in	0.6
Indian Valley Local School DistrictGnadenhutten	18.1 in	0.9

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Garaway High School

Elementary

Miller Avenue Elementary School
Dundee Elementary School, Dundee
Ragersville Elementary School
Baltic Elementary School, Baltic

Questions

Garaway snow day questions

How much snow does Sugarcreek get?

What was the biggest snow day near Garaway?

How does the Garaway 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.