Website says it can predict your NJ school’s next snow day

⚫ A site uses forecasts and other information to declare the odds of a snow day

⚫ The calculator gets millions of users per year

⚫ It also adds notes about potential delayed openings and early closures

Answer three simple questions, and a website will pump out the odds of a snow day for your kid's school.

If you trust the algorithm, you can keep this "snow day calculator" in mind when the next storm comes around, to perhaps get a better idea of whether or not your kid will be home from school the next day, or the day after that.

If you're skeptical, know this: the calculator has millions of users per year. It's received coverage from the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! Tech, and other news outlets.

The calculator started as a side project by a man named David Sukhin, when he was in middle school in 2007. His "custom formula" has gotten a lot of help over the years, with technology advancing to offer more area-specific weather predictions.

Using the snow day calculator

Your job as a user is simple. Just enter this information:

❄ Your ZIP code

❄ How many snow days your school has recorded so far this academic year

❄ What type of school (public, private, or boarding, for example)

The site uses the most recent information from weather.gov.

Ultimately, it's the school district that makes the snow day decision. The factors of school type and previous snow days also help the predictor site — for example, a district that counts on bussing may make a different decision than one that does not.

SEE ALSO: This video explores NJ "until it's ugly"

The snow day calculator can handle any U.S. or Canadian ZIP code. It gives you the odds of a closure for the next two school days. It also will tell you whether you'd be wise to count on a delayed opening or early closure.

The site also gives you the option to sign up for text alerts, either as a free trial or for a season-long fee.

When winter weather hits, check out New Jersey 101.5's school closings page for the latest decisions from school districts throughout the Garden State.

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