Harrisonburg, Virginia, 6,786 students in 10 schools

Harrisonburg City Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Harrisonburg get?

About 10.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Harrisonburg?

7 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 19.2 inches.

Q: Does Harrisonburg get more snow days than other Virginia districts?

Harrisonburg averages 0.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 75 percent of the 116 Virginia districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Harrisonburg snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg’s own big snow morning: 4.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away.

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

The next three school mornings

Will Harrisonburg close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Harrisonburg’s snow record

10.8inches of snow a winter

1.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.6with 4 in or more

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

0.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 75% of the 116 Virginia districts with a station record.

0.2Nov

1.5Dec

4.6Jan

2.7Feb

1.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 19.2 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 3.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.6 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 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 Harrisonburg

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Rockingham County Public SchoolsHarrisonburg	10.8 in	0.6
Augusta County Public SchoolsVerona	9.4 in	1.1
Page County Public SchoolsLuray	11.4 in	0.9
Waynesboro City Public SchoolsWaynesboro	9.4 in	1.1
Charlottesville City Public SchoolsCharlottesville	10.6 in	0.7
Albemarle County Public SchoolsCharlottesville	10.6 in	0.7

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Harrisonburg High

Middle

Skyline Middle
Thomas Harrison Middle

Elementary

Smithland Elementary
Bluestone Elementary
Waterman Elementary
Stone Spring Elementary
Keister Elementary
Spotswood Elementary

Other schools

Harrisonburg H.S. Governor's STEM Academy

Questions

Harrisonburg snow day questions

How much snow does Harrisonburg get?

What was the biggest snow day near Harrisonburg?

Does Harrisonburg get more snow days than other Virginia districts?

How does the Harrisonburg snow day predictor work?

How does Virginia handle snow days?

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.