West Salem, Ohio, 1,259 students in 3 schools

Northwestern Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does West Salem get?

About 28.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 22 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Northwestern Local School District?

12.6 inches on January 19, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 22 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 46.7 inches.

Q: How does the Northwestern Local School District snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for West Salem 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 Northwestern Local School District’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 22 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 Northwestern Local School District, measured against Northwestern Local School District's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Northwestern Local School District close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Northwestern Local School District’s snow record

28.6inches of snow a winter

2.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.5with 4 in or more

2.5 ina big snow morning in Northwestern Local School District: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

1.9Nov

5.5Dec

9.9Jan

6.7Feb

2.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.6 in on January 19, 2019
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 46.7 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 22 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 Northwestern Local School District

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Wooster City School DistrictWooster	20.3 in	0.6
Triway Local School DistrictWooster	20.3 in	0.6
Norwayne Local School DistrictCreston	52.1 in	1.9
Ashland City School DistrictAshland	28.6 in	0.5
Cloverleaf Local School DistrictLodi	52.1 in	1.9
Green Local School DistrictSmithville	38 in	1

The schools

3 schools

Every school in Northwestern Local School District follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Northwestern High School

Middle

Northwestern Middle School

Elementary

Northwestern Elementary School

Questions

Northwestern Local School District snow day questions

How much snow does West Salem get?

What was the biggest snow day near Northwestern Local School District?

How does the Northwestern Local School District 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.