Harrison, Ohio, 4,382 students in 5 schools

Southwest Local School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Harrison get?

About 20 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 9 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 0.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Southwest?

7 inches on January 6, 2025, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 9 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 33.3 inches.

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

Southwest averages 0.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 50 percent of the 582 Ohio districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Southwest snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Harrison 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’s own big snow morning: 3.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Southwest, measured against Southwest's own big snow morning of 3.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Southwest close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Southwest’s snow record

20inches of snow a winter

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

0.7with 4 in or more

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

1.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 50% of the 582 Ohio districts with a station record.

1.6Nov

4.6Dec

7Jan

6Feb

0.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7 in on January 6, 2025
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 33.3 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 9 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

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Three Rivers Local School DistrictCleves	20 in	0.7
Ross Local School DistrictHamilton	20 in	0.7
Northwest Local School DistrictCincinnati	20 in	0.7
Oak Hills Local School DistrictCincinnati	20 in	0.7
North College Hill City School DistrictCincinnati	20 in	0.7
Mount Healthy City School DistrictCincinnati	20 in	0.7

The schools

5 schools

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

High

William Henry Harrison High School

Middle

Harrison Middle School

Elementary

Crosby Elementary School
Miami Whitewater Elementary School
Harrison Elementary School

Questions

Southwest snow day questions

How much snow does Harrison get?

What was the biggest snow day near Southwest?

Does Southwest get more snow days than other Ohio districts?

How does the Southwest 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.