Clay, West Virginia, 1,530 students in 6 schools

Clay County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Clay get?

About 12.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 22.2 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Clay?

9 inches on January 7, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 22.2 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 28.5 inches.

Q: How does the Clay snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Clay 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 Clay’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 22.2 miles away.

Q: Can West Virginia schools hold a remote day instead?

Under a state approved county plan, work assigned and graded on days closed for weather counts for up to 25 hours of instructional time.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Clay, measured against Clay's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Clay close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Clay’s snow record

12.5inches of snow a winter

1.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Clay: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.2Nov

2Dec

6.6Jan

2.5Feb

1.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on January 7, 2022
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 28.5 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 4.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 22.2 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 West Virginia rule

How West Virginia counts a lost day

West Virginia requires at least 900 instructional hours a year, with each county setting the length of its days. The State Superintendent may lower the minimum in a county under a federal disaster declaration or a Governor's emergency declaration tied to the lost hours.

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

Next door

Districts near Clay

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Nicholas County School DistrictSummersville	15.6 in	0.6
Roane County School DistrictSpencer	16.4 in	0.8
Braxton County School DistrictSutton	11.3 in	0.5
Fayette County School DistrictFayetteville	15.6 in	0.6
Kanawha County School DistrictCharleston	18.1 in	0.6
Webster County School DistrictWebster Springs	42.5 in	2.1

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Clay County High School

Middle

Clay Middle School

Elementary

Clay Elementary School
Big Otter Elementary School, Duck
Lizemore Elementary School, Lizemore
H E White Elementary School, Bomont

Questions

Clay snow day questions

How much snow does Clay get?

What was the biggest snow day near Clay?

How does the Clay snow day predictor work?

How does West Virginia handle snow days?

Can West Virginia schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

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