Belmont, New Hampshire, 1,133 students in 4 schools

Shaker Regional School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Belmont get?

About 75 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Shaker?

17.3 inches on March 14, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 99.2 inches.

Q: Does Shaker get more snow days than other New Hampshire districts?

Shaker averages 3.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 61 percent of the 176 New Hampshire districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Shaker snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Belmont 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 Shaker’s own big snow morning: 5.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Shaker, measured against Shaker's own big snow morning of 5.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Shaker close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Shaker’s snow record

75inches of snow a winter

7.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.7with 4 in or more

5.8 ina big snow morning in Shaker: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 61% of the 176 New Hampshire districts with a station record.

3.4Nov

20.3Dec

16.4Jan

19.3Feb

12.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 17.3 in on March 14, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 99.2 in
6 in mornings 2.3 a winter
1 in mornings 12.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.4 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 Shaker

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Winnisquam Regional School DistrictTilton	84.9 in	5.1
Laconia School DistrictLaconia	71.5 in	4
Gilford School DistrictGilford	71.5 in	4
Merrimack Valley School DistrictPenacook	54.8 in	3.6
Newfound Area School DistrictBristol	77.4 in	4
Concord School DistrictConcord	59.4 in	3.1

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Belmont High School

Middle

Belmont Middle School

Elementary

Belmont Elementary School
Canterbury Elementary School, Canterbury

Questions

Shaker snow day questions

How much snow does Belmont get?

What was the biggest snow day near Shaker?

Does Shaker get more snow days than other New Hampshire districts?

How does the Shaker 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.