Shorewood, Wisconsin, 1,927 students in 5 schools

Shorewood School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Shorewood get?

About 33 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Shorewood?

9 inches on December 11, 2016, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 45 inches.

Q: How does the Shorewood snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Shorewood 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 Shorewood’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

Q: Can Wisconsin schools hold a remote day instead?

If a district offers make-up instruction virtually on a weather closure, those hours can count; the rule sets no cap on such days.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Shorewood, measured against Shorewood's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Shorewood close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Shorewood’s snow record

33inches of snow a winter

3.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.4with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Shorewood: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.3Nov

5.2Dec

9.3Jan

8.8Feb

5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on December 11, 2016
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 45 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 6.9 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 Wisconsin rule

How Wisconsin counts a lost day

Wisconsin requires hours, not days: 437 for kindergarten, 1,050 for grades 1 to 6 and 1,137 for grades 7 to 12.

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

Next door

Districts near Shorewood

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Nicolet Union High School DistrictGlendale	33 in	1.4
Milwaukee School DistrictMilwaukee	42 in	1.9
Brown Deer School DistrictBrown Deer	33.1 in	1.3
St. Francis School DistrictSaint Francis	41.3 in	1.6
Wauwatosa School DistrictWauwatosa	42 in	1.9
West Allis School DistrictWest Allis	42 in	1.9

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Shorewood High
New Horizons for Learning

Middle

Shorewood Intermediate

Elementary

Lake Bluff Elementary
Atwater Elementary

Questions

Shorewood snow day questions

How much snow does Shorewood get?

What was the biggest snow day near Shorewood?

How does the Shorewood snow day predictor work?

How does Wisconsin handle snow days?

Can Wisconsin schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

More for Wisconsin 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.Wisconsin winter forecastThe season ahead for Wisconsin: 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.