School Closing Calculator

How to Use the School Closing Calculator

Welcome to the School Closing Calculator guide. This tool evaluates various weather conditions to provide a risk assessment and determine whether a school should remain open or closed. Follow these steps to make the best use of the calculator:

Step 1: Entering the Expected Snowfall

Start by entering the expected snowfall in inches in the Expected Snowfall field. This is a critical parameter as it directly influences the snow risk score. The value should be a number between 0 and 100, and you can specify it with up to one decimal place for precision. If there’s no expected snowfall, enter 0.

Step 2: Provide the Temperature

Move on to the Temperature field and input the current or forecasted temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. This measure ranges from -50 to 120 and will significantly affect the temperature risk score, especially when temperatures fall below freezing.

Step 3: Input the Wind Speed

Next, include the wind conditions by entering the wind speed in mph in the Wind Speed box. Acceptable values range from 0 to 100. Higher wind speeds will enhance the wind risk score, given their potential for making conditions dangerous.

Step 4: Specify Road Conditions

Select the current condition of the roads from the Road Conditions dropdown. You have four options:

• Clear
• Wet
• Icy
• Heavy Snow Cover

This selection helps calculate the road risk score, with ‘Heavy Snow Cover’ contributing the highest penalty due to associated travel hazards.

Step 5: Indicate Weather Warning Status

Lastly, choose the relevant Weather Warning Status from the available dropdown options:

• No Warning
• Weather Advisory
• Winter Storm Warning
• Blizzard Warning

This status will add to the warning risk score, with more severe warnings significantly impacting the total risk score.

Step 6: Review the Risk Scores and Recommendation

Once all the fields are populated, the calculator will compute and display various risk scores: Snow Risk Score, Temperature Risk Score, Wind Risk Score, Road Risk Score, and Warning Risk Score.

The sum of these scores gives the Total Risk Score. Based on this total score, the calculator provides a School Closing Recommendation as follows:

• 0 – School Should Remain Open
• 1 – Consider 2-Hour Delay
• 2 – Consider Early Dismissal
• 3 – School Should Be Closed

By following these steps carefully, you can make informed decisions about school operations during adverse weather conditions. Stay safe and use this tool wisely to ensure the well-being of all students and staff.