Machesney Park, Illinois, 6,254 students in 11 schools

Harlem Unit School District 122 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Machesney Park get?

About 38.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.9 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Harlem?

9 inches on January 29, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 56.5 inches.

Q: Does Harlem get more snow days than other Illinois districts?

Harlem averages 1.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 99 percent of the 788 Illinois districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Harlem snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Machesney Park 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 Harlem’s own big snow morning: 4.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Harlem, measured against Harlem's own big snow morning of 4.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Harlem close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Harlem’s snow record

38.1inches of snow a winter

4.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

4.9 ina big snow morning in Harlem: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 99% of the 788 Illinois districts with a station record.

3.4Nov

7.3Dec

12.3Jan

8.3Feb

4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on January 29, 2023
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 56.5 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.9 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 Illinois rule

How Illinois counts a lost day

Illinois requires a calendar of at least 185 days to guarantee 176 days of actual student attendance, each of at least 5 clock hours. The extra calendar days are emergency days used first; after they are gone, the State Superintendent may excuse days lost to an act of God or a hazard beyond the district's control without cutting state aid.

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

Next door

Districts near Harlem

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Rockford School District 205Rockford	31.8 in	0.7	5
Belvidere Consolidated Unit School District 100Belvidere	28.3 in	0.6
Freeport School District 145Freeport	30.6 in	1.2
Sycamore Community Unit School District 427Sycamore	26 in	0.1
Woodstock Community Unit School District 200Woodstock	38.2 in	1.3
Central Community Unit School District 301Burlington	34.7 in	1.4

The schools

11 schools

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

High

Harlem High School

Middle

Harlem Middle School, Loves Park

Elementary

Rock Cut Elem School, Loves Park
Maple Elem School, Loves Park
Windsor Elem School, Loves Park
Loves Park Elem School, Loves Park
Olson Park Elem School
Machesney Elem School
Ralston Elem School
Marquette Elem School

Other schools

Donald C Parker Early Educ Center

Questions

Harlem snow day questions

How much snow does Machesney Park get?

What was the biggest snow day near Harlem?

Does Harlem get more snow days than other Illinois districts?

How does the Harlem snow day predictor work?

How does Illinois handle snow days?

More winter

More for Illinois 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.Illinois winter forecastThe season ahead for Illinois: 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.