Pataskala, Ohio, 4,924 students in 8 schools

Southwest Licking Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Pataskala get?

About 19.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.9 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 Southwest Licking?

11.9 inches on January 25, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 33.9 inches.

Q: How does the Southwest Licking snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Pataskala 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 Southwest Licking’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.6 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 Southwest Licking, measured against Southwest Licking's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Southwest Licking close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Southwest Licking’s snow record

19.5inches of snow a winter

1.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.5with 4 in or more

2.5 ina big snow morning in Southwest Licking: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

1Nov

4.4Dec

6.9Jan

5.3Feb

1.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.9 in on January 25, 2026
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 33.9 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 3.3 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 Southwest Licking

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Licking Heights Local School DistrictPataskala	19.5 in	0.5
Pickerington Local School DistrictPickerington	19.5 in	0.5
Reynoldsburg City School DistrictReynoldsburg	19.5 in	0.5
Liberty Union-Thurston Local School DistrictBaltimore	19.5 in	0.5
Canal Winchester Local School DistrictCanal Winchester	19.5 in	0.5
Lakewood Local School DistrictHebron	11.9 in	0.8

The schools

8 schools

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

High

Watkins Memorial High School
SWL Digital Academy

Middle

Watkins Middle School, Etna

Elementary

Watkins Intermediate School
Etna Elementary, Etna
Kirkersville Elementary School, Etna
Pataskala Elementary School

Other schools

Southwest Licking Early Learning Center, Etna

Questions

Southwest Licking snow day questions

How much snow does Pataskala get?

What was the biggest snow day near Southwest Licking?

How does the Southwest Licking 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.