Amherst School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How does Amherst announce a snow day?

By the district website, local TV and radio, and on the district’s own closings page.

Q: How long is a delayed start in Amherst?

2 hours: on a delay morning every school starts that much later.

Q: When is the last day of school for Amherst?

June 15, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Amherst get?

About 51.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Amherst?

14.2 inches on December 3, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 84.2 inches.

Q: How does the Amherst snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Amherst 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 Amherst’s own big snow morning: 6.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.6 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will Amherst close tomorrow?

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

The Amherst playbook

How Amherst calls a snow day

How families hear

By the district website, local TV and radio.

“School Closures and Delays will also be shown on the following news/radio stations:”

School Closing Information (Clark-Wilkins School, SAU 39)

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“On a delayed opening, schools will open two (2) hours after the regular starting time and bus pick-ups will also be delayed two (2) hours.”

Delay schedule

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day September 1, 2026
Winter break Dec 23 to Jan 1
February break Feb 22 to Feb 26
Last day June 15, 2027

District calendar

The board policy

“Determination of cancellation of school or delayed opening is a joint decision made by the Superintendents of SAU-39 and SAU-40 (Milford), based upon information received through the Milford Communications Center from local police departments and road agents.”

Board policy

Read from Amherst’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is sau39.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

Amherst’s snow record

51.8inches of snow a winter

5.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.3with 4 in or more

6.5 ina big snow morning in Amherst: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

1.5Nov

12Dec

13.2Jan

14.7Feb

8.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14.2 in on December 3, 2019
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 84.2 in
6 in mornings 1.8 a winter
1 in mornings 9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.6 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 New Hampshire rule

How New Hampshire counts a lost day

New Hampshire requires 180 days or the required hours: 450 in kindergarten, 945 in grades 1 to 6 and 990 in grades 7 to 12. Lost time must be rescheduled with added hours before a district can ask for a waiver of the hours requirement.

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

Next door

Districts near Amherst

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Milford School DistrictMilford	51.8 in	3.3	5
Merrimack School DistrictMerrimack	47.3 in	3
Hollis-Brookline Cooperative School DistrictHollis	51.8 in	3.3
Bedford School DistrictBedford	51.3 in	2.8	5
Litchfield School DistrictLitchfield	47.3 in	3
Nashua School DistrictNashua	49.9 in	2.5

The schools

2 schools

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

Middle

Amherst Middle School

Elementary

Clark-Wilkins School

Questions

Amherst snow day questions

How does Amherst announce a snow day?

How long is a delayed start in Amherst?

When is the last day of school for Amherst?

How much snow does Amherst get?

What was the biggest snow day near Amherst?

How does the Amherst snow day predictor work?

How does New Hampshire handle snow days?

More winter

More for New Hampshire 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.New Hampshire winter forecastThe season ahead for New Hampshire: 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.