Snow day calculator helps predict school closings

On January 7, 2025By Littum

Related video: Criteria school district uses to decide whether to cancel school starting January 2024

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — As winter weather returns to Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley, students and teachers across the area will be wondering if they will have school the following day.

Well, there is a website that can help.

The Snow day calculator predicts the chances of a snow day for a given area. The website uses an algorithm that grew from a middle school project created nearly two decades ago to a nationwide phenomenon with over five million annual users.

Are snow days coming back for Arkansas students?

The calculator only needs a zip code to make a prediction.

It was started by David Sukhin in 2007 while in middle school and uses National Weather Service data to analyze factors that include storm timing, wind conditions, temperature and ice forecasts, according to the New York Times. It also takes into account historical closing patterns for specific schools and regions.

The calculator can only predict whether your school or business may close due to weather. The decision naturally comes from the school or the company.

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