Manchester, Connecticut, 6,167 students in 10 schools

Manchester School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: When does Manchester call a snow day?

Manchester announces closings broadcast as early as 5:30 a.m. the day of a cancellation, by its own published protocol.

Q: How does Manchester announce a snow day?

By radio and local TV, and on the district’s own closings page.

Q: How long is a delayed start in Manchester?

2 hours: on a delay morning every school starts that much later.

Q: When is the last day of school for Manchester?

June 10, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Manchester get?

About 24.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4.4 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: How does the Manchester snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Manchester through the night and the 5 to 8 am bus run, adds winter alerts and the Winter Storm Severity Index, and measures the snow against Manchester’s own big snow morning: 5.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4.4 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Manchester, measured against Manchester's own big snow morning of 5.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Manchester close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Manchester.

The Manchester playbook

How Manchester calls a snow day

When the call comes

Broadcast as early as 5:30 a.m. the day of a cancellation.

“In the event of a cancellation, that information will be broadcast as early as 5:30 a.m. the day of a cancellation or shortly after the decision to close school early that day.”

Source

How families hear

By radio and local TV.

“When it's necessary to delay or cancel schools because of inclement weather or for any other reason, local radio stations and television networks will broadcast this information.”

Cancellations & Delays

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“Delayed Opening - 2 Hour Delay”

Delay schedule

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 26, 2026
Winter break Dec 24 to Jan 1
February break Feb 15 to Feb 16
Last day June 10, 2027

District calendar

Read from Manchester’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is mpspride.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

Manchester’s snow record

24.8inches of snow a winter

2.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.7with 4 in or more

5.5 ina big snow morning in Manchester: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0Nov

6.1Dec

7Jan

7.6Feb

3.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 39.3 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 5.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 4.4 miles away. Mornings are the 7 am snow reading on a weekday from December 1 through March 31, over the ten winters from 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026, from NOAA GHCN Daily.

The Connecticut rule

How Connecticut counts a lost day

Connecticut requires at least 180 days and 900 hours of actual school work, counting no more than 7 hours a day.

The Connecticut rules in the agency’s own words, and every Connecticut district

Next door

Districts near Manchester

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
South Windsor School DistrictSouth Windsor	24.8 in	1.7
East Hartford School DistrictEast Hartford	24.8 in	1.7
Vernon School DistrictVernon	24.8 in	1.7
Glastonbury School DistrictGlastonbury	24.8 in	1.7
Windsor School DistrictWindsor	24.8 in	1.7
Hartford School DistrictHartford	24.8 in	1.7

The schools

10 schools

Every school in Manchester follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Manchester High School

Middle

Elisabeth M. Bennet Academy
Illing Middle School

Elementary

Waddell School
Verplanck School
Highland Park School
Keeney School
Bowers School
Buckley School
Martin School

Questions

Manchester snow day questions

When does Manchester call a snow day?

How does Manchester announce a snow day?

How long is a delayed start in Manchester?

When is the last day of school for Manchester?

How much snow does Manchester get?

How does the Manchester snow day predictor work?

How does Connecticut handle snow days?

More winter

More for Connecticut snow days

Snow day predictorClosing and delay odds for any ZIP, with the snowiest districts in the country.Snow depth mapHow much snow is on the ground right now, measured, across the country.First snow datesWhen the first measurable snow usually lands where you live.Frozen pipesThe nights cold enough to freeze a pipe, and what to do before one.Snow plow trackerWhere the plows are during a storm, city by city.Connecticut winter forecastThe season ahead for Connecticut: snowfall, cold and the first snow.

A residential street under deep snow on a bright blue morning, cars parked along the curb buried into smooth white mounds, one set of tire tracks down the middle — The morning after a big one: cars buried to the mirrors and one set of tracks down the middle. A street like this is a closing, no debate. Photo, Fairfax, Virginia, January 2016: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY 4.0

The odds are a forecast read, and the superintendent makes the call: the district’s own announcement is the one to follow.