Ripley, Tennessee, 3,360 students in 7 schools

Lauderdale County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Ripley get?

About 3.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 18.6 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 0.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Lauderdale?

6 inches on February 16, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 18.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 10.1 inches.

Q: Does Lauderdale get more snow days than other Tennessee districts?

Lauderdale averages 0.3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 84 percent of the 106 Tennessee districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Lauderdale snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ripley 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 Lauderdale’s own big snow morning: 4.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 18.6 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Lauderdale, measured against Lauderdale's own big snow morning of 4.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Lauderdale close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Lauderdale’s snow record

3.5inches of snow a winter

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

0.3with 4 in or more

4.5 ina big snow morning in Lauderdale: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 84% of the 106 Tennessee districts with a station record.

0Nov

0Dec

2Jan

1.3Feb

0.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 6 in on February 16, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 10.1 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 0.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 18.6 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 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 Lauderdale

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Tipton County School DistrictCovington	4.4 in	0.3
Dyer County School DistrictDyersburg	3.3 in	0.1
Arlington Community School DistrictArlington	4.3 in	0.1
Fayette County School DistrictSomerville	3.3 in	0.2
Gibson County School DistrictDyer	4 in	0.1
Jackson-Madison County School SystemJackson	3.7 in	0

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Ripley High School
Halls High School, Halls

Middle

Ripley Middle School
Halls Junior High School, Halls

Elementary

Ripley Primary
Halls Elementary School, Halls
Ripley Elementary

Questions

Lauderdale snow day questions

How much snow does Ripley get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lauderdale?

Does Lauderdale get more snow days than other Tennessee districts?

How does the Lauderdale snow day predictor work?

How does Tennessee handle snow days?

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.