Winchester, Massachusetts, 4,331 students in 7 schools

Winchester School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Winchester get?

About 37.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Winchester?

18 inches on March 14, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 62 inches.

Q: How does the Winchester snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Winchester 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 Winchester’s own big snow morning: 5.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

Q: How far ahead does the Winchester 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 Winchester, measured against Winchester's own big snow morning of 5.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Winchester close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Winchester’s snow record

37.5inches of snow a winter

3.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.8with 4 in or more

5.9 ina big snow morning in Winchester: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.4Nov

5.6Dec

11.9Jan

12.4Feb

6.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 18 in on March 14, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 62 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 5.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Winchester

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Medford School DistrictMedford	34.4 in	1.8
Woburn School DistrictWoburn	37.5 in	1.8
Stoneham School DistrictStoneham	28.2 in	1.5
Arlington School DistrictArlington	34.4 in	1.8
Lexington School DistrictLexington	37.9 in	1.9
Melrose School DistrictMelrose	28.2 in	1.5

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Winchester High School

Middle

McCall Middle

Elementary

Lynch Elementary
Vinson-Owen Elementary
Ambrose Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Muraco Elementary

Questions

Winchester snow day questions

How much snow does Winchester get?

What was the biggest snow day near Winchester?

How does the Winchester snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Winchester snow day predictor look?

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.