Elkton, Maryland, 14,997 students in 29 schools

Cecil County Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Elkton get?

About 16.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.4 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Cecil?

7.6 inches on March 22, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.4 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 33.9 inches.

Q: How does the Cecil snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Elkton 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 Cecil’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.4 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Cecil snow day predictor look?

Three school mornings, as far as the National Weather Service hourly forecast reaches. Weekends and breaks are skipped, so a Friday storm is read for Monday’s buses.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Cecil, measured against Cecil's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Cecil close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Cecil’s snow record

16.1inches of snow a winter

2.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.4with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Cecil: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.5Nov

2.3Dec

5.7Jan

4.7Feb

3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.6 in on March 22, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 33.9 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 3.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.4 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 Maryland rule

How Maryland counts a lost day

Maryland requires at least 180 school days and 1,080 hours within 10 months, with days of at least 3 hours. On a county board's application showing it tried to comply, the State Board may shorten the year when severe weather or a disaster prevented normal attendance, without cutting state or local funding.

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

Next door

Districts near Cecil

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Harford County Public SchoolsBel Air	11.8 in	0.7	3
Queen Annes County Public SchoolsCentreville	11.5 in	0.6
Baltimore County Public SchoolsTowson	15.7 in	1	3
Baltimore City Public SchoolsBaltimore	4.4 in	0.1	3
Caroline County Public SchoolsDenton	9.3 in	0.5
Talbot County Public SchoolsEaston	9.5 in	0.5

The schools

29 schools

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

High

Elkton High
North East High, North East
Rising Sun High, North East
Perryville High, Perryville
Bohemia Manor High, Chesapeake City
Cecil County School of Technology

Middle

North East Middle, North East
Rising Sun Middle School, Rising Sun
Perryville Middle, Perryville
Elkton Middle
Bohemia Manor Middle, Chesapeake City
Cherry Hill Middle

Elementary

Rising Sun Elementary, Rising Sun
North East Elementary, North East
Bay View Elementary, North East
Thomson Estates Elementary
Gilpin Manor Elementary
Holly Hall Elementary
Cecil Manor Elementary
Elk Neck Elementary
Perryville Elementary, Perryville
Calvert Elementary, Rising Sun
Conowingo Elementary, Conowingo
Chesapeake City Elementary, Chesapeake City
Leeds Elementary
Charlestown Elementary, Charlestown
Cecilton Elementary, Cecilton
Bainbridge Elementary, Port Deposit
Kenmore Elementary

Questions

Cecil snow day questions

How much snow does Elkton get?

What was the biggest snow day near Cecil?

How does the Cecil snow day predictor work?

How does Maryland handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Cecil snow day predictor look?

More winter

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