Cookeville, Tennessee, 11,762 students in 22 schools

Putnam County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Cookeville get?

About 2.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 16.9 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 Putnam?

2.5 inches on January 16, 2024, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 16.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 6.1 inches.

Q: How does the Putnam snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Cookeville 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 Putnam’s own big snow morning: 2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 16.9 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 Putnam, measured against Putnam's own big snow morning of 2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Putnam close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Putnam’s snow record

2.2inches of snow a winter

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

0with 4 in or more

2 ina big snow morning in Putnam: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0Nov

0.1Dec

1.4Jan

0.6Feb

0Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 2.5 in on January 16, 2024
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 6.1 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 0.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 16.9 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 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 Putnam

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
White County School DistrictSparta	2.2 in	0
Smith County School DistrictCarthage	4.2 in	0.2
Cumberland County School DistrictCrossville	2.2 in	0
Warren County School DistrictMcMinnville	9.4 in	0.5
Macon County School DistrictLafayette	4.1 in	0.1
Wilson County School DistrictLebanon	4.1 in	0.2	10

The schools

22 schools

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

High

Cookeville High School
Upperman High School, Baxter
Monterey High School, Monterey
Putnam Co Adult High School

Middle

Upperman Middle School, Baxter
Prescott South Middle School
Avery Trace Middle School
Algood Middle School

Elementary

Prescott South Elementary
Burks Elementary, Monterey
Capshaw Elementary
Algood Elementary, Algood
Northeast Elementary
Cane Creek Elementary
Park View Elementary
Cornerstone Elementary, Baxter
Baxter Primary, Baxter
Jere Whitson Elementary
Sycamore Elementary

Other schools

Putnam County VITAL
White Plains Academy, Algood
T T U Child Development Lab

Questions

Putnam snow day questions

How much snow does Cookeville get?

What was the biggest snow day near Putnam?

How does the Putnam 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.