Palmer, Massachusetts, 1,085 students in 2 schools

Palmer School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Palmer get?

About 42.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5.6 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5.1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Palmer?

12.5 inches on December 3, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5.6 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 59.5 inches.

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

Palmer averages 2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 52 percent of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Palmer snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Palmer 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 Palmer’s own big snow morning: 4.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5.6 miles away.

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

The next three school mornings

Will Palmer close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Palmer’s snow record

42.7inches of snow a winter

5.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2with 4 in or more

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

More 4 inch school mornings than 52% of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

1Nov

11.2Dec

14.5Jan

9.6Feb

3.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.5 in on December 3, 2019
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 59.5 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 7.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5.6 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 Palmer

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Ware School DistrictWare	42.7 in	2
Belchertown School DistrictBelchertown	37.6 in	2
Hampden-Wilbraham School DistrictWilbraham	26.1 in	1.1
Ludlow School DistrictLudlow	37.6 in	2
Quaboag Regional School DistrictWarren	42.7 in	2
Tantasqua School DistrictFiskdale	44.8 in	3

The schools

2 schools

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

High

Palmer High

Elementary

Old Mill Pond

Questions

Palmer snow day questions

How much snow does Palmer get?

What was the biggest snow day near Palmer?

Does Palmer get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

How does the Palmer 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.