Fincastle, Virginia, 4,488 students in 12 schools

Botetourt County Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Fincastle get?

About 6.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.8 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 Botetourt?

8.5 inches on December 10, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 14.7 inches.

Q: How does the Botetourt snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Fincastle 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 Botetourt’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away.

Q: Can Virginia schools hold a remote day instead?

A division can declare an unscheduled remote learning day when weather closes buildings, up to 10 a year unless the state superintendent extends it, without losing state aid.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Botetourt, measured against Botetourt's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Botetourt close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Botetourt’s snow record

6.2inches of snow a winter

0.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.2with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Botetourt: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0Nov

1.9Dec

2.9Jan

0.5Feb

0.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8.5 in on December 10, 2018
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 14.7 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 1.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.1 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 Virginia rule

How Virginia counts a lost day

Virginia requires at least 180 teaching days or 990 teaching hours, or state aid is reduced. After 5 closures, only one of every two further days must be made up; the Board of Education can also waive make-up when every reasonable effort is exhausted.

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

Next door

Districts near Botetourt

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Roanoke County Public SchoolsRoanoke	9 in	0
Roanoke City Public SchoolsRoanoke	9 in	0
Bedford County Public SchoolsBedford	5.9 in	0.3
Franklin County Public SchoolsRocky Mount	7.2 in	0.2
Montgomery County Public SchoolsChristiansburg	13.3 in	0.2
Lynchburg City Public SchoolsLynchburg	8.7 in	0.4

The schools

12 schools

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

High

Lord Botetourt High, Daleville
James River High, Buchanan

Middle

Read Mountain Middle, Cloverdale
Central Academy Middle

Elementary

Colonial Elementary, Troutville
Greenfield Elementary, Troutville
Buchanan Elementary, Buchanan
Troutville Elementary, Troutville
Cloverdale Elementary, Cloverdale
Breckinridge Elementary
Eagle Rock Elementary, Eagle Rock

Other schools

Botetourt Technical Education Center

Questions

Botetourt snow day questions

How much snow does Fincastle get?

What was the biggest snow day near Botetourt?

How does the Botetourt snow day predictor work?

How does Virginia handle snow days?

Can Virginia schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

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