Reading, Massachusetts, 3,850 students in 9 schools

Reading School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Reading get?

About 44.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5.1 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 2.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Reading?

18.3 inches on February 2, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5.1 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 63.1 inches.

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

Reading averages 2.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 56 percent of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Reading snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Reading 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 Reading’s own big snow morning: 5.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5.1 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Reading, measured against Reading's own big snow morning of 5.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Reading close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Reading’s snow record

44.2inches of snow a winter

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

2.1with 4 in or more

5.2 ina big snow morning in Reading: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 56% of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

0.1Nov

8.2Dec

16Jan

14.8Feb

3.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 18.3 in on February 2, 2021
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 63.1 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 7.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5.1 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 Reading

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
North Reading School DistrictNorth Reading	45 in	2.8
Wilmington School DistrictWilmington	44.2 in	2.1
Wakefield School DistrictWakefield	28.2 in	1.5
Stoneham School DistrictStoneham	28.2 in	1.5
Lynnfield School DistrictLynnfield	28.2 in	1.5
Woburn School DistrictWoburn	37.5 in	1.8

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Reading Memorial High

Middle

Walter S Parker Middle
Arthur W Coolidge Middle

Elementary

J Warren Killam
Joshua Eaton
Birch Meadow
Alice M Barrows
Wood End Elementary School

Other schools

RISE PreSchool

Questions

Reading snow day questions

How much snow does Reading get?

What was the biggest snow day near Reading?

Does Reading get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

How does the Reading 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.