Carthage, Tennessee, 3,033 students in 9 schools

Smith County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Carthage get?

About 4.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.3 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Smith?

6 inches on January 7, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.3 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 16.1 inches.

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

Smith averages 0.2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 60 percent of the 106 Tennessee districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Smith snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Carthage 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 Smith’s own big snow morning: 3.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.3 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Smith, measured against Smith's own big snow morning of 3.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Smith close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Smith’s snow record

4.2inches of snow a winter

0.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.2with 4 in or more

3.4 ina big snow morning in Smith: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 60% of the 106 Tennessee districts with a station record.

0.1Nov

0.3Dec

2.8Jan

0.8Feb

0.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 6 in on January 7, 2022
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 16.1 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 1.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.3 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 Smith

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Wilson County School DistrictLebanon	4.1 in	0.2	10
Lebanon Special School DistrictLebanon	4.1 in	0.2
Macon County School DistrictLafayette	4.1 in	0.1
Putnam County School DistrictCookeville	2.2 in	0
Sumner County School DistrictGallatin	4.1 in	0.1
White County School DistrictSparta	2.2 in	0

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Gordonsville High School, Gordonsville
Smith County High School

Middle

Smith County Middle School

Elementary

Carthage Elementary
Gordonsville Elementary School, Gordonsville
Defeated Elementary
Union Heights Elementary
New Middleton Elementary, Gordonsville
Forks River Elementary, Elmwood

Questions

Smith snow day questions

How much snow does Carthage get?

What was the biggest snow day near Smith?

Does Smith get more snow days than other Tennessee districts?

How does the Smith 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.