Heber City, Utah, 8,970 students in 9 schools

Wasatch School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Heber City get?

About 64.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Wasatch?

13 inches on January 2, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 150.4 inches.

Q: Does Wasatch get more snow days than other Utah districts?

Wasatch averages 3.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 78 percent of the 41 Utah districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Wasatch snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Heber City 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 Wasatch’s own big snow morning: 4.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.6 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Wasatch, measured against Wasatch's own big snow morning of 4.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Wasatch close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Wasatch’s snow record

64.2inches of snow a winter

7.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.1with 4 in or more

4.8 ina big snow morning in Wasatch: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 78% of the 41 Utah districts with a station record.

4.1Nov

10.8Dec

18.7Jan

15.7Feb

11.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 13 in on January 2, 2023
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 150.4 in
6 in mornings 1.6 a winter
1 in mornings 13.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.6 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 Utah rule

How Utah counts a lost day

Utah requires at least 180 school days of educational services. No fixed count; a district that closes for snow and would fall short of 180 days can ask the State Superintendent for a waiver, granted without Board approval if it built contingency days into its calendar.

The Utah rules in the agency’s own words, and every Utah district

Next door

Districts near Wasatch

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Park City School DistrictPark City	134.5 in	7.9
Alpine School DistrictAmerican Fork	18.7 in	0.3
Provo School DistrictProvo	29.1 in	0.8
Canyons School DistrictSandy	55.2 in	2.8
Murray School DistrictMurray	51.4 in	2.4
Granite School DistrictSalt Lake City	51.4 in	2.4

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Wasatch High

Middle

Timpanogos Middle School
Rocky Mountain Middle

Elementary

Wasatch Learning Academy
Old Mill School
J.R. Smith School
Midway School, Midway
Daniels Canyon School
Heber Valley School

Questions

Wasatch snow day questions

How much snow does Heber City get?

What was the biggest snow day near Wasatch?

Does Wasatch get more snow days than other Utah districts?

How does the Wasatch snow day predictor work?

How does Utah handle snow days?

More winter

More for Utah 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.Utah winter forecastThe season ahead for Utah: 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.