The Truth Behind the Snow Day Calculator

Zip code. Snow days this year. Type of School. You press enter. You wish – no, you pray – to see a 99 or 100 percent pop up on your screen, but, instead, you get the number 70. You still have hope, so you check periodically throughout the day, but it drops and drops and drops – all the way down to a Limited Percent Chance. No snow day tomorrow. 

How does the snow day calculator even work? Is it just some random number someone puts online for clicks? David Sukhan, the creator of the Snow Day Calculator, says that it uses an algorithm that takes the information you put in to predict snow days (WBUR). There’s a catch, it’s not perfect, but that’s because it is supposed to learn from past predictions and make better decisions afterward.

So no, it’s not just some magical number that seems to always be less than what we want, it is an actual algorithm that is pretty reliable. But do people at Saint Edward High School really believe in the Snow Day Calculator? Here’s what they said:

Anonymous Faculty Member –  “It’s wrong. It leads to disappointment by getting peoples’ hopes up.”

Sean McCafferty 25’ – “It makes me believe that I have a snow day. Then I purposely don’t do it because I think there is a snow day. Gets my hope up then destroys it.”

Micheal Gall 25’-  “I never used the Snow Day Calculator. It doesn’t give actual evidence and just shows numbers.”

Is Snow Day Calculator a facade? The St Eds community certainly thinks so, but, nevertheless, everyone will still check the Snow Day Calculator to prove to Principal Stepnowsky to take the day off. You can check for your snow day chances at https://www.snowdaycalculator.com/calculator.php.