Winchendon, Massachusetts, 1,219 students in 6 schools

Winchendon School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Winchendon get?

About 61.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.2 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Winchendon?

14 inches on March 14, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.2 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 85.7 inches.

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

Winchendon averages 3.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 94 percent of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Winchendon snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Winchendon 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 Winchendon’s own big snow morning: 8.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Winchendon, measured against Winchendon's own big snow morning of 8.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Winchendon close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Winchendon’s snow record

61.7inches of snow a winter

7.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.4with 4 in or more

8.1 ina big snow morning in Winchendon: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

8.5school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 94% of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

2Nov

13.5Dec

16.1Jan

14.2Feb

12Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14 in on March 14, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 85.7 in
6 in mornings 2 a winter
1 in mornings 11.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.2 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 Winchendon

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Narragansett School DistrictBaldwinville	66.7 in	2.8
Gardner School DistrictGardner	56.3 in	2.4
Ashburnham-Westminster School DistrictAshburnham	66.7 in	2.8
Athol-Royalston School DistrictAthol	42.9 in	3.7
Fitchburg School DistrictFitchburg	48.1 in	3
North Middlesex School DistrictTownsend	52.8 in	2.6

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Murdock High School
Murdock Academy for Success

Middle

Murdock Middle School

Elementary

Memorial
Toy Town Elementary

Other schools

Winchendon PreSchool Program

Questions

Winchendon snow day questions

How much snow does Winchendon get?

What was the biggest snow day near Winchendon?

Does Winchendon get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

How does the Winchendon 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.