Ever wondered how much snow it would take to close down the schools in your state?
Well this helpful map, posted on Thursday by Redditor atrubetskoy, may help supply you with an answer.
Atrubetskoy (real name Alexandr Trubetskoy), created the cool, color-coded graphic using data "taken from hundreds of various points from user responses ... interpolated using NOAA's average annual snowfall days map," he wrote on Reddit.
Waking up to a coveted "snow day" has long been a goal of American school children, but Trubetskoy's map shows that schools vary greatly in their ability to handle cold weather, notes PolicyMic. While the Northeast scoffed at the winter storm-induced panic that gripped their southern neighbors this week, it's important to remember that everything is relative.
While only a few inches of snow is enough to shutter school across the south, according to Trubetskoy's calculations it can take closer to two feet of snow to close schools in the weather-weary areas of the Upper Midwest and Canada.
Admitting his map is far from perfect, Trubetskoy also included this series of clarifications along with his image:
1. The lightest green says "any snow" but also includes merely the prediction of snow. Also, this is snow accumulation over 24 hours/overnight.
2. In much of the Midwest and Great Plains, school closing often depends more on wind chill and temperature than on snow accumulation ("cold days"). Thus, this map may be misleading in those areas.
3. Many jurisdictions in California and other western states have significantly varied snowfall, depending on elevation. This makes it difficult to find an "average" number, or often makes it misleading.
4. Urban areas like Chicago and New York have more resources to clear snow and often need more to cause closings.
5. To everyone saying "I grew up in so-and-so and we never closed school," policies have changed in the last 20 years to make closing a much more common occurrence. Just because schools stayed open back then doesn't mean they do these days.
6. Hawaii does get snow! Just... not where people live.
7. Data was taken from hundreds of various points from user responses and interpolated using NOAA's average annual snowfall days map. Any corrections/additions are welcome, just give a decently specific location.