Thornville, Ohio, 2,198 students in 5 schools

Northern Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Thornville get?

About 17.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Northern?

8 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 34.6 inches.

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

Northern averages 1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 72 percent of the 582 Ohio districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Northern snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Thornville 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 Northern’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.6 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Northern, measured against Northern's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Northern close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Northern’s snow record

17.8inches of snow a winter

2.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Northern: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 72% of the 582 Ohio districts with a station record.

0.2Nov

3.8Dec

7.6Jan

4.3Feb

1.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 34.6 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 4.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.6 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 Northern

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Fairfield Union Local School DistrictLancaster	17.8 in	1
Lancaster City School DistrictLancaster	17.8 in	1
Lakewood Local School DistrictHebron	11.9 in	0.8
New Lexington City School DistrictNew Lexington	17.8 in	1
Liberty Union-Thurston Local School DistrictBaltimore	19.5 in	0.5
Crooksville Exempted Village School DistrictCrooksville	17.8 in	1

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Sheridan High School

Middle

Sheridan Middle School

Elementary

Thornville Elementary School
Glenford Elementary School, Glenford
Somerset Elementary School, Somerset

Questions

Northern snow day questions

How much snow does Thornville get?

What was the biggest snow day near Northern?

Does Northern get more snow days than other Ohio districts?

How does the Northern 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.