Blountville, Tennessee, 8,082 students in 17 schools

Sullivan County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Blountville get?

About 7.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5.8 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 Sullivan?

9.4 inches on December 9, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5.8 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 13.7 inches.

Q: How does the Sullivan snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Blountville 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 Sullivan’s own big snow morning: 1.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5.8 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 Sullivan, measured against Sullivan's own big snow morning of 1.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Sullivan close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Sullivan’s snow record

7.4inches of snow a winter

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

0with 4 in or more

1.3 ina big snow morning in Sullivan: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.3Nov

2Dec

3.1Jan

1.2Feb

0.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9.4 in on December 9, 2018
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 13.7 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 1.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5.8 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 Sullivan

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

The schools

17 schools

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

High

West Ridge High School
Sullivan East High School, Bluff City

Middle

Sullivan Heights Middle School, Kingsport
Sullivan Central Middle School
Sullivan East Middle School, Bluff City
Innovation Academy

Elementary

Holston Elementary
Bluff City Elementary, Bluff City
Ketron Elementary School, Kingsport
Rock Springs Elementary, Kingsport
Mary Hughes School, Piney Flats
Indian Springs Elementary, Kingsport
Emmett Elementary, Bristol
Miller Perry Elementary, Kingsport
Central Heights Elementary
Sullivan Gardens Elementary, Kingsport

Other schools

Sullivan County Virtual Learning Academy

Questions

Sullivan snow day questions

How much snow does Blountville get?

What was the biggest snow day near Sullivan?

How does the Sullivan 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.