Wise, Virginia, 5,883 students in 13 schools

Wise County Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Wise get?

About 19 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.9 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 Wise?

10 inches on January 9, 2024, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 33.2 inches.

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

Wise 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 Wise snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Wise 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 Wise’s own big snow morning: 3.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Wise, measured against Wise's own big snow morning of 3.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Wise close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Wise’s snow record

19inches of snow a winter

1.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.7with 4 in or more

3.4 ina big snow morning in Wise: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

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

1.1Nov

3.6Dec

7.8Jan

3.9Feb

2.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10 in on January 9, 2024
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 33.2 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Wise

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Scott County Public SchoolsGate City	15.6 in	0.4
Russell County Public SchoolsLebanon	10.5 in	0.4
Washington County Public SchoolsAbingdon	7.7 in	0.1
Tazewell County Public SchoolsTazewell	27.1 in	1
Smyth County Public SchoolsMarion	8.2 in	0.3
Wythe County Public SchoolsWytheville	13.3 in	0.3

The schools

13 schools

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

High

Central High, Norton
Union High, Big Stone Gap
Eastside High, Coeburn

Middle

Union Middle, Big Stone Gap
L.F. Addington Middle
Coeburn Middle, Coeburn

Elementary

Union Primary, Big Stone Gap
Wise Primary
St. Paul Elementary, St Paul
J.W. Adams Combined, Pound
Coeburn Primary, Coeburn

Other schools

Wise Co. Alternative Ed. Ctr.
Wise County Career-Technical Center

Questions

Wise snow day questions

How much snow does Wise get?

What was the biggest snow day near Wise?

Does Wise get more snow days than other Virginia districts?

How does the Wise 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.