Harrisville, West Virginia, 1,159 students in 5 schools

Ritchie County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Harrisville get?

About 14.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 0.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Ritchie?

8 inches on March 12, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 28.5 inches.

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

Ritchie averages 0.8 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 68 percent of the 53 West Virginia districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Ritchie snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Harrisville 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 Ritchie’s own big snow morning: 3 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 Ritchie, measured against Ritchie's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Ritchie close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Ritchie’s snow record

14.3inches of snow a winter

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

0.8with 4 in or more

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

More 4 inch school mornings than 68% of the 53 West Virginia districts with a station record.

0.3Nov

2.4Dec

6.1Jan

3.3Feb

2.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8 in on March 12, 2022
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 28.5 in
6 in mornings 0.1 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 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 Ritchie

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Doddridge County School DistrictWest Union	9.8 in	0.3
Pleasants County School DistrictSt. Marys	15.3 in	0.3
Tyler County School DistrictMiddlebourne	14.9 in	0.2
Wood County School DistrictParkersburg	7.5 in	0
Wetzel County School DistrictNew Martinsville	12.9 in	0.2
Roane County School DistrictSpencer	16.4 in	0.8

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Ritchie County High School, Ellenboro

Middle

Ritchie County Middle, Ellenboro

Elementary

Harrisville Elementary
Creed Collins Elementary, Pennsboro
Smithville Elementary, Smithville

Questions

Ritchie snow day questions

How much snow does Harrisville get?

What was the biggest snow day near Ritchie?

Does Ritchie get more snow days than other West Virginia districts?

How does the Ritchie snow day predictor work?

How does West Virginia handle snow days?

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.