Predict your school’s next snow day

The holidays are over, but there’s a reason for kids (and adults!) to keep hope alive – snow days!

Whether you have a whole day off to enjoy the fluffy white stuff or a distance learning session you can do from the couch in PJs, it’s still a pleasure to break up the midwinter blahs.

Want to predict the likelihood of an upcoming snow day?

Although the weather can be hard to predict, like many things these days, there’s an app for that.

Snow day calculator

The Snow day calculator asks users to enter their location, how many snow days they’ve had this school year, and what type of school (public, public city, public country, private/prep, or boarding) they attend. It then uses a “custom formula” to predict the chance of a snow day in the next two days.

Users can get a third day’s predictions by signing up for a free trial or purchasing a one-year subscription for $4 or a two-year subscription for $7. You can receive text messages with the predictions.

Snow Calculator history

Like Frosty, the calculator came to life one day — as a middle school project in 2007. Back then, users had to pull in their own weather data and the program would read the probability of snow, according to SnowCalculator.com.

In 2010, the calculator launched automatic forecast retrieval from the National Weather Service, meaning it could automatically predict snow data for any zip code in the United States. According to the service, more than 5 million people today use the tool each year to “get eerily accurate information about whether their school will be closed due to upcoming weather. Users like to update their predictions several times a day (sometimes several times an hour ). ) to get the latest forecast using the latest weather information.”

There are also iOS and Android apps for the snow calculator that can be downloaded.

How does the snow calculator work?

So how does it work?

“Snow day predictions use the timing and strength of a snowstorm, wind, temperature, ice forecasts and historical information about a user’s location and school,” according to the website, which says it is 100% accurate in many locations.

As users report what actually happened each day, the calculator “learns” more about each school and region, helping it become more and more accurate.

However, there is one thing that the calculator cannot predict – whether a school closure means online learning or an actual day off. Check with your local district to find out the emergency closure plans.

Visit snowdaycalculator.com for more information or to try the tool.

This article originally appeared on the Asbury Park Press: Snow day prediction: Calculate the chances of a day off