Elizabethton, Tennessee, 4,630 students in 15 schools

Carter County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Elizabethton get?

About 5.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.3 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Carter?

5 inches on December 9, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.3 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 10.5 inches.

Q: How does the Carter snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Elizabethton 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 Carter’s own big snow morning: 2.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.3 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 Carter, measured against Carter's own big snow morning of 2.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Carter close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Carter’s snow record

5.8inches of snow a winter

0.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0with 4 in or more

2.1 ina big snow morning in Carter: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.1Nov

1.7Dec

2.6Jan

1Feb

0.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 5 in on December 9, 2017
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 10.5 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 1.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.3 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 Carter

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Johnson City School DistrictJohnson City	5.8 in	0
Sullivan County School DistrictBlountville	7.4 in	0
Bristol City School DistrictBristol	7.7 in	0.1
Washington County School DistrictJonesborough	4.8 in	0.2
Kingsport City School DistrictKingsport	3.4 in	0
Johnson County School DistrictMountain City	9.3 in	0.2

The schools

15 schools

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

High

Happy Valley High School
Hampton High School, Hampton
Unaka High School
Cloudland High School, Roan Mountain
Siam Learning Center

Middle

Happy Valley Middle School

Elementary

Hampton Elementary, Hampton
Happy Valley Elementary, Johnson City
Hunter Elementary
Cloudland Elementary School, Roan Mountain
Central Elementary, Johnson City
Valley Forge Elementary
Unaka Elementary
Little Milligan, Butler

Other schools

Carter County Online Academy

Questions

Carter snow day questions

How much snow does Elizabethton get?

What was the biggest snow day near Carter?

How does the Carter 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.