Bristol, Tennessee, 4,082 students in 9 schools

Bristol City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Bristol get?

About 7.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 13.2 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Bristol?

9 inches on December 9, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 13.2 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 14.9 inches.

Q: How does the Bristol snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Bristol 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 Bristol’s own big snow morning: 2.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 13.2 miles away.

Q: Can Tennessee schools hold a remote day instead?

A district may move a class, a school or every school to remote instruction for dangerous or extreme weather; up to 5 days each semester of the required 180 may be delivered remotely.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Bristol, measured against Bristol's own big snow morning of 2.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Bristol close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Bristol’s snow record

7.7inches of snow a winter

0.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.1with 4 in or more

2.3 ina big snow morning in Bristol: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.4school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.2Nov

2.1Dec

3.8Jan

1.4Feb

0.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on December 9, 2018
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 14.9 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 2.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 13.2 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 Tennessee rule

How Tennessee counts a lost day

Tennessee requires at least 180 days of classroom instruction, with a 6.5 hour instructional day. A district that runs a half hour longer than the required 6.5 hour day all year banks the extra time as up to 13 stockpile days, which can cover days lost to dangerous or extreme weather.

The Tennessee rules in the agency’s own words, and every Tennessee district

Next door

Districts near Bristol

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Sullivan County School DistrictBlountville	7.4 in	0
Carter County School DistrictElizabethton	5.8 in	0
Johnson City School DistrictJohnson City	5.8 in	0
Kingsport City School DistrictKingsport	3.4 in	0
Johnson County School DistrictMountain City	9.3 in	0.2
Washington County School DistrictJonesborough	4.8 in	0.2

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Tennessee High School
Tennessee Online Public School

Middle

Bristol Tennessee Middle School

Elementary

Avoca Elementary
Haynesfield Elementary
Fairmount Elementary
Holston View Elementary
Anderson Elementary
Tennessee Online Public School at Bristol

Questions

Bristol snow day questions

How much snow does Bristol get?

What was the biggest snow day near Bristol?

How does the Bristol snow day predictor work?

How does Tennessee handle snow days?

Can Tennessee schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

More for Tennessee 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.Tennessee winter forecastThe season ahead for Tennessee: 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.