West Lafayette, Ohio, 1,246 students in 3 schools

Ridgewood Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does West Lafayette get?

About 13.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.6 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2 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 Ridgewood?

7.5 inches on January 16, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.6 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 26.7 inches.

Q: How does the Ridgewood snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for West Lafayette 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 Ridgewood’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.6 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 Ridgewood, measured against Ridgewood's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Ridgewood close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Ridgewood’s snow record

13.2inches of snow a winter

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

0.4with 4 in or more

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

1.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.4Nov

3.1Dec

4.4Jan

3.3Feb

1.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.5 in on January 16, 2022
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 26.7 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 3.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.6 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 Ridgewood

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
River View Local School DistrictWarsaw	13.2 in	0.4
Tri-Valley Local School DistrictDresden	13.2 in	0.4
Garaway Local School DistrictSugarcreek	21.1 in	0.6
Indian Valley Local School DistrictGnadenhutten	18.1 in	0.9
East Muskingum Local School DistrictNew Concord	13.2 in	0.4
Cambridge City School DistrictCambridge	13.2 in	0.4

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Ridgewood High School

Middle

Ridgewood Middle School

Elementary

Ridgewood Elementary School, West

Questions

Ridgewood snow day questions

How much snow does West Lafayette get?

What was the biggest snow day near Ridgewood?

How does the Ridgewood 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.