Fair Haven, Vermont, 1,215 students in 5 schools

Slate Valley Unified Union School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Fair Haven get?

About 57.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.6 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Slate Valley?

12.5 inches on March 15, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.6 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 90.8 inches.

Q: How does the Slate Valley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Fair Haven 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 Slate Valley’s own big snow morning: 4.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.6 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Slate Valley snow day predictor look?

Three school mornings, as far as the National Weather Service hourly forecast reaches. Weekends and breaks are skipped, so a Friday storm is read for Monday’s buses.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Slate Valley, measured against Slate Valley's own big snow morning of 4.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Slate Valley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Slate Valley’s snow record

57.8inches of snow a winter

7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.9with 4 in or more

4.7 ina big snow morning in Slate Valley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4.2Nov

12.8Dec

12.2Jan

13.9Feb

13Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.5 in on March 15, 2017
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 90.8 in
6 in mornings 1.6 a winter
1 in mornings 12.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.6 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 Vermont rule

How Vermont counts a lost day

Vermont requires at least 175 student attendance days a year, with the school board setting the length of the day. A school closed for a cause beyond the board's control may petition the State Board for a waiver, filed within 10 days of each closing and by June 15; if granted the district is treated as having met the requirement.

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

Next door

Districts near Slate Valley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Greater Rutland County Supervisory UnionRutland	75.6 in	3
Rutland City Supervisory DistrictRutland	75.6 in	3
Rutland Northeast Supervisory UnionBrandon	82.4 in	4.9
Addison Central Supervisory DistrictMiddlebury	61.5 in	2.8
Bennington Rutland Supervisory UnionSunderland	123.4 in	5.7
Mountain Views Supervisory UnionWoodstock	70.2 in	3.8

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Fair Haven Union Middle and High School

Elementary

Fair Haven Grade School
Castleton Elementary School, Castleton
Orwell Village School, Orwell
Benson Village School, Benson

Questions

Slate Valley snow day questions

How much snow does Fair Haven get?

What was the biggest snow day near Slate Valley?

How does the Slate Valley snow day predictor work?

How does Vermont handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Slate Valley snow day predictor look?

More winter

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