A map of how much snow it takes to cancel school across the U.S.

[pokerfan]

Disclaimer: I am not posting with any intent to ridicule states that lack adequate snow removal equipment (or snow driving equipment) because they seldom see snow. Just thought it was interesting, that's all.

How much snow does it take to cancel school in your area? This map takes a look at just how much snow around the country it takes to have a snowday.

Redditor atrubetskoy made this map by using a combination of local news reports, a survey, and average snowfall levels from NOAA maps to make an approximation of the differing levels of snow it takes to call off school. While the map is based on hundreds of data points, it is by no means considered to be 100% accurate, as atrubetskoy explains himself.



http://io9.com/a-map-of-how-much-snow-it-takes-to-cancel-school-acros-1512324082

[HockeyMom]

1. Buffalo versus Long Island

Our school district back when hired a superintendent from Buffalo. "6 inches is just a dusting", he would say. Well, yeah, to someone from BUFFALO it is. He kept the schools open and it became a nightmare with the school buses driving in commuter traffic on unplowed roads. He finally compromised with delayed openings and early closings. Much better.

[markpkessinger]

11. I have a sister who lives in Erie, PA . . .

. . . Shw was, until she recently retired, a high school English teacher. Erie, of course, is very much like Buffalo in the amount of snow it gets each winter (due to the same lake effect). And like Buffalo, Erie area schools and businesses rarely close for snow. But as my sister has pointed out, it would be really impractical for them to do so, because if they did that, they'd be closing down every few days from November through March. And so people just learn to cope with it.

[Fumesucker]

2. And here is a map of the frost line in the US

Hmm.. Not a bad coincidence there.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Up here they're more likely to close school

if there's a sudden warming in the winter as they've had to do in Fairbanks a couple of times this year. The water floating on top of the ice is the most dangerous condition.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. Where I live, they have cancelled school because snow was forecast. We don't get much snow here so

we don't have snow removal equipment to take care of it except for major highways. Also, with so little practice, most people around here don't know the basics of how to drive on snow. The streets get really dangerous with people sliding all over the place and wiping out other cars.

[Bandit]

13. If you like I will gladly send you my snow shovel; I am so sick of that damn thing

My back hurts just thinking about it...

[Arkansas Granny]

16. It's sweet of you to offer, but if I need the walk shoveled, I have a wonderful grandson

who'll come do the job for me. This just proves that there is an upside to having children.

[RC]

5. After living in North Dakota for 45 years, I am sensitive to the fact the people in the Kansas City

area don't have much of a clue as to what an actual winter is. Bitter cold, wind chill, snow, winter in general. In North Dakota the first snow fall in the Fall (October/November) is the last to melt in the spring (March/April). One year their was a 3 day blizzard that dumped 3 feet of snow on the ground at the end of March. A few winters ago, it never got above -20° for 6 weeks. Lows were in the -30°/-40° range every night. Not to mention the years of 96/97 with 92 inches of snow accumulations.
Down here Spring arrives after every snow fall. Some of the weather forecasts are hysterical. Bitter cold: +20°F. Wind chill warnings +15°. Heavy snow: 3 inches. Other areas in the Blue know what winter is also.

[fizzgig]

6. don't know if i'm reading this right

but it seems to show that they close schools here (northern colorado front range) at six inches. i can tell you that's patented crap, we got six inches earlier this week and school was not cancelled. it usually takes at least ten, if not a full foot for them to close the schools. i didn't have a single snow day from seventh to twelfth grade. hell, we had a two foot dump in 2003 and the university didn't close down.

[Squinch]

9. Same with NYC. Unless the bulk of the storm is hitting during the hours just before the morning

commute, they don't close the schools for less than 10 or so inches.

[hlthe2b]

7. Ecologic Fallacy: THIS DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT that ICE is more prevalent in South

nor does it take into account the impact of ice in general, and those regions that experience ice as the PRIMARY EVENT.

It is not only the absence of snow removal equipment.... After decades driving in CO and WY mountains and experiencing the worst that winter can bring, ICE is a very different situation. Those smirking at what happens in Atlanta and the South need to get that through their heads.

[HereSince1628]

8. I suspect the median is much less than 12" in the Milwaukee area

Over the last ten years it might average 12", but we've had only a handful of storms more than 12" in that time.

Six to eight has certainly closed schools when it has fallen fast.

When it's been dry snow that is easily blown by the wind, schools with mostly rural populations will shut down if the roads can't be kept clear of drifting snow.

It seems to not be so much about amounts of snow as it is about the potential for liability.

[shraby]

10. Another thought about the map...look at the distribution of counties in the individual states.

Some have many more counties than others..i.e. Georgia and Michigan.

[JNelson6563]

12. I'm in deep blue zone, schools were closed for days.

Today is the first day this week the school buses ran. This winter has been brutal since November in northern MI. If schools are closed for a week here, yeah, I hope you stocked up!

Our road crews have worked tirelessly! They were unable to keep up. We've got everything to handle winter here, of course, lots of salt, sand and really big plows. Those thins could probably serve as a makeshift tank in a pinch.

We've had a reprieve in snow yesterday and today, maybe a couple of inches. Road crews are all caught up now, I hope they'e getting a hard-earned rest! No telling when we'll get hammered again. My money's on "soon".

Julie

[demmiblue]

14. Most of the snow days here this year were due to temperature. n/t

[clarice]

15. They shut..

down the schools here in Texas...because it was..sleeting a little bit. lol

[central scrutinizer]

17. Here in Eugene, Oregon, a forecast of snow is sometimes enough

One morning, it was snowing in Salem, Oregon which is about 70 miles north of Eugene and the weather service predicted that the snow would move south throughout the day. So the local schools sent students home around lunch time. Not one flake ever fell during this "storm".

[3catwoman3]

18. I grew up in deep blue Rochester NY...

...near the shores of Lake Ontario. Lots ans lots, and LOTS of snow. Attended public schools from 1959-1969. The schools hardly ever closed. Unlike today, when the school buses seem to stop about every 10 yards, my high school bus stopped at the end of my street, some 15 houses away. In the late 60s, girls were not permitted to wear pants to school, and I remember truly feeling as if I were freezing my ass off as the wind gust would blow up my skirt.

[CBGLuthier]

19. Nonsense, south Oklahoma does not freak out over "any snow"

North Texas, maybe but Oklahoma gets snow every year.