Rocky Mount, Virginia, 6,160 students in 14 schools

Franklin County Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Rocky Mount get?

About 7.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.7 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 Franklin?

6 inches on January 7, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 17.6 inches.

Q: How does the Franklin snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Rocky Mount 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 Franklin’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3 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 Franklin, measured against Franklin's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Franklin close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Franklin’s snow record

7.2inches of snow a winter

0.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.2with 4 in or more

2.5 ina big snow morning in Franklin: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0Nov

0.9Dec

4.2Jan

0.9Feb

1.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 6 in on January 7, 2017
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 17.6 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 1.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 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 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 Franklin

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Henry County Public SchoolsCollinsville	7.1 in	0.2
Roanoke City Public SchoolsRoanoke	9 in	0
Roanoke County Public SchoolsRoanoke	9 in	0
Bedford County Public SchoolsBedford	5.9 in	0.3
Pittsylvania County Public SchoolsChatham	6.6 in	0.3
Montgomery County Public SchoolsChristiansburg	13.3 in	0.2

The schools

14 schools

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

High

Franklin County High

Middle

Benjamin Franklin Middle

Elementary

Lee M. Waid Elementary
Rocky Mount Elementary
Boones Mill Elementary, Boones Mill
Burnt Chimney Elementary, Wirtz
Windy Gap Elementary, Hardy
Ferrum Elementary, Ferrum
Sontag Elementary
Snow Creek Elementary, Penhook
Glade Hill Elementary, Glade Hill
Dudley Elementary, Wirtz
Callaway Elementary, Callaway
Henry Elementary, Henry

Questions

Franklin snow day questions

How much snow does Rocky Mount get?

What was the biggest snow day near Franklin?

How does the Franklin 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.