Rutherford County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: When does Rutherford call a snow day?

Rutherford announces closings as soon as possible once a reliable forecast is issued, aiming for the night before, by its own published protocol.

Q: How does Rutherford announce a snow day?

By social media, the district website, phone call and email, and on the district’s own closings page.

Q: How long is a delayed start in Rutherford?

2 hours: on a delay morning every school starts that much later.

Q: When is the last day of school for Rutherford?

May 28, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How does the Rutherford snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Murfreesboro through the night and the 5 to 8 am bus run, adds winter alerts and the Winter Storm Severity Index, and weighs them against how Tennessee districts handle a bad morning.

The next three school mornings

Will Rutherford close tomorrow?

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

The Rutherford playbook

How Rutherford calls a snow day

When the call comes

As soon as possible once a reliable forecast is issued, aiming for the night before.

“Decisions are made as soon as possible once a reliable forecast is issued. The district strives to make closure announcements the night before, if credible information is available.”

Source

How families hear

By social media, the district website, phone call and email.

“The RCS communications department will always post the information on the district's official social media channels and on the RCS website. In addition, information will be sent to parents as a phone call and email, and the information will be shared with all local media outlets.”

RCS Inclement Weather Procedures

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“When schools open two hours late, it simply means the first bell time for each school will be delayed by two hours.”

Delay schedule

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 7, 2026
Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 1
Last day May 28, 2027

District calendar

Read from Rutherford’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is rcschools.net.

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 Rutherford

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Bedford County School DistrictShelbyville	3.1 in	0.3
Wilson County School DistrictLebanon	4.1 in	0.2	10
Williamson County School DistrictFranklin			10
Lebanon Special School DistrictLebanon	4.1 in	0.2
Coffee County School DistrictManchester	3.1 in	0.3
Metropolitan Nashville Public School DistrictNashville	4.1 in	0.2	7

The schools

51 schools, the 40 largest here

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

High

Stewarts Creek High School, Smyrna
Smyrna High School, Smyrna
Blackman High School
Rockvale High School, Rockvale
Riverdale High School
Lavergne High School, Lavergne
Oakland High School
Siegel High School
Central Magnet School

Middle

Blackman Middle School
Rockvale Middle School, Rockvale
Siegel Middle School
Oakland Middle School
LaVergne Middle School, La Vergne
Rock Springs Middle School, Smyrna
Christiana Middle School, Christiana
Stewarts Creek Middle School, Smyrna
Smyrna Middle School, Smyrna
Rocky Fork Middle School, Smyrna
Whitworth-Buchanan Middle School

Elementary

Stewarts Creek Elementary School, Smyrna
Roy L Waldron Elementary, Lavergne
Rock Springs Elementary, Lavergne
Blackman Elementary School
Rockvale Elementary, Rockvale
Rocky Fork Elementary School, Smyrna
Barfield Elementary
Cedar Grove Elementary, Smyrna
LaVergne Lake Elementary School, LaVergne
Brown's Chapel Elementary School
Stewartsboro Elementary, Smyrna
Smyrna Elementary, Smyrna
David Youree Elementary, Smyrna
Wilson Elementary School
Thurman Francis Arts Academy/Magnet School for the Arts, Smyrna
Plainview Elementary School, Christiana
Christiana Elementary, Christiana
John Colemon Elementary, Smyrna
Lascassas Elementary, Lascassas

Other schools

Eagleville School, Eagleville

Questions

Rutherford snow day questions

When does Rutherford call a snow day?

How does Rutherford announce a snow day?

How long is a delayed start in Rutherford?

When is the last day of school for Rutherford?

How does the Rutherford 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.