Gardner, Massachusetts, 2,472 students in 4 schools

Gardner School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Gardner get?

About 56.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4.2 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Gardner?

16.5 inches on March 14, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 4.2 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 76.9 inches.

Q: Does Gardner get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

Gardner averages 2.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 70 percent of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Gardner snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Gardner 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 Gardner’s own big snow morning: 4.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Gardner, measured against Gardner's own big snow morning of 4.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Gardner close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Gardner’s snow record

56.3inches of snow a winter

6.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.4with 4 in or more

4.5 ina big snow morning in Gardner: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 70% of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

2.1Nov

9.6Dec

14.6Jan

14.1Feb

11.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 16.5 in on March 14, 2023
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 76.9 in
6 in mornings 1.2 a winter
1 in mornings 9.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 4.2 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 Massachusetts rule

How Massachusetts counts a lost day

Massachusetts requires a 185 day calendar, at least 180 days actually held, and 900 hours for elementary or 990 hours for secondary students. Every day lost through March 31 is made up with full rescheduled days; after March 31, days are made up until 180 or the scheduled 185th day, whichever comes first.

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

Next door

Districts near Gardner

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Ashburnham-Westminster School DistrictAshburnham	66.7 in	2.8
Narragansett School DistrictBaldwinville	66.7 in	2.8
Winchendon School DistrictWinchendon	61.7 in	3.4
Fitchburg School DistrictFitchburg	48.1 in	3
Athol-Royalston School DistrictAthol	42.9 in	3.7
Leominster School DistrictLeominster	48.1 in	3	5

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Gardner High
Gardner Academy for Learning and Technology

Middle

Gardner Middle School

Elementary

Gardner Elementary School

Questions

Gardner snow day questions

How much snow does Gardner get?

What was the biggest snow day near Gardner?

Does Gardner get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

How does the Gardner snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

More winter

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