So far this school year, the Croton School District has used 3 of our 6 built in snow days. Each day that we didn't have school, it either didn’t snow at all or was minimal. This begs the question of “What Criteria is used to determine when school is cancelled?”
According to The Weather Channel, there are seven main factors that districts consider before cancelling school.
Timing - When it snows is sometimes more influential than the actually amount of snow falling. If snow is still falling in the morning, the plows won’t have enough time to clear it away before buses need to come.
Snowfall Intensity - How fast the snow is falling is also a factor when closing school. It is very easy for snow plows to clear 1-2 inches in 12 hours, but if the snow is falling quickly (around 1-2 inches per hour), it is difficult for snow clearing crews to keep up.
Ice Accumulation - Even if it is less than half an inch, ice can make roads undrivable for buses. If the buses can’t pick up kids, there can’t be any school.
Ground Temperature - The ground temperature greatly impacts the behavior of fallen snow. It the ground temperature is cold, then the snow will stay crisp and travel will be easier. If the ground temperature is warm then the snow will melt and refreeze, creating a slushy mess that buses and schools don’t want to deal with.
Wind Chill - If the wind chill is cold enough that schools fear the safety of their students who have to walk to school, they are more likely to cancel it. An average wind chill temperature in this area of New York to close school is -25 degrees.
Power Outages - If the school or much of the town has no power, there is an extremely high chance that school will be cancelled.
Non-Weather Related Events - Above all, the superintendent must factor in non-weather related events. If it is testing day or some other statewide event, school will most likely not be cancelled. However, if the safety of the students is jeopardized, school must still be cancelled.
Hopefully, if some of our other snowdays are used, they will be for worthwhile storms rather than some of the previous ones this year.