Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 2,449 students in 6 schools

Portsmouth School District Snow Day Predictor

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

June 14, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Portsmouth get?

About 43.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.1 miles away, averaged over 9 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 Portsmouth?

34 inches on March 15, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.1 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 62.8 inches.

Q: How does the Portsmouth snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth’s own big snow morning: 6.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.1 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Portsmouth, measured against Portsmouth's own big snow morning of 6.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Portsmouth close tomorrow?

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

The Portsmouth playbook

How Portsmouth calls a snow day

How families hear

By phone call, email, local TV, the district website and social media.

“In the event of emergencies and weather-related school delays and closings, the Portsmouth School Department notifies parents via phone or email through ParentSquare.”

School Closings | City of Portsmouth

Making up a lost day

Storm or emergency days can change the calendar; June 18, 2027 stays a no school day whatever the snow day total.

“June 18th is a no school day regardless of snow day total”

Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 27, 2026
Winter break Dec 24 to Jan 1
February break Feb 22 to Feb 26
Last day June 14, 2027

District calendar

Read from Portsmouth’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is cityofportsmouth.com/school.

Ten winters of school mornings

Portsmouth’s snow record

43.5inches of snow a winter

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

2.1with 4 in or more

6.4 ina big snow morning in Portsmouth: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.5Nov

5.1Dec

13.3Jan

14.1Feb

9.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 34 in on March 15, 2023
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 62.8 in
6 in mornings 1.4 a winter
1 in mornings 7.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.1 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 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 Portsmouth

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Oyster River Cooperative School DistrictDurham	48.4 in	3.1	5
Winnacunnet Cooperative School DistrictHampton	48 in	2.8
Dover School DistrictDover	48.4 in	3.1
Exeter Regional Cooperative School DistrictExeter	48 in	2.8
Somersworth School DistrictSomersworth	56 in	3
Sanborn Regional School DistrictKingston	52.6 in	3.3

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Portsmouth High School

Middle

Portsmouth Middle School

Elementary

Mary C. Dondero Elementary School
Little Harbour School
New Franklin School

Other schools

PEEP School - Pre School Program

Questions

Portsmouth snow day questions

How does Portsmouth announce a snow day?

When is the last day of school for Portsmouth?

How much snow does Portsmouth get?

What was the biggest snow day near Portsmouth?

How does the Portsmouth 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.