Woodstock, Virginia, 5,689 students in 10 schools

Shenandoah County Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Woodstock get?

About 14.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 13.3 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Shenandoah?

8.4 inches on December 17, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 13.3 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 26.3 inches.

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

Shenandoah averages 0.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 78 percent of the 116 Virginia districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Shenandoah snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Woodstock 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 Shenandoah’s own big snow morning: 4.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 13.3 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Shenandoah, measured against Shenandoah's own big snow morning of 4.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Shenandoah close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Shenandoah’s snow record

14.3inches of snow a winter

2.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.7with 4 in or more

4.2 ina big snow morning in Shenandoah: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 78% of the 116 Virginia districts with a station record.

0.5Nov

1.5Dec

7.2Jan

3.7Feb

1.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8.4 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 26.3 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 3.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 13.3 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 Shenandoah

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Page County Public SchoolsLuray	11.4 in	0.9
Warren County Public SchoolsFront Royal	6.9 in	0.3
Frederick County Public SchoolsWinchester	9.9 in	0.4
Winchester City Public SchoolsWinchester	9.9 in	0.4
Rockingham County Public SchoolsHarrisonburg	10.8 in	0.6
Harrisonburg City Public SchoolsHarrisonburg	10.8 in	0.6

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Central High
Strasburg High, Strasburg
Mountain View High, Quicksburg

Middle

Peter Muhlenberg Middle
Signal Knob Middle, Strasburg
North Fork Middle, Quicksburg

Elementary

W.W. Robinson Elementary
Sandy Hook Elementary, Strasburg
Honey Run Elementary, Quicksburg

Other schools

Triplett Business & Tech., Mount Jackson

Questions

Shenandoah snow day questions

How much snow does Woodstock get?

What was the biggest snow day near Shenandoah?

Does Shenandoah get more snow days than other Virginia districts?

How does the Shenandoah 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.