Beacon, New York, 2,635 students in 6 schools

Beacon City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Beacon get?

About 30.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Beacon?

15.7 inches on March 15, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 51.1 inches.

Q: How does the Beacon snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Beacon 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 Beacon’s own big snow morning: 5.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away.

Q: Can New York schools hold a remote day instead?

A district that would otherwise close for a storm may stay in session remotely under its emergency remote instruction plan, and that day counts toward the 180 days and the hours; districts are not required to do it.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Beacon, measured against Beacon's own big snow morning of 5.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Beacon close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Beacon’s snow record

30.6inches of snow a winter

4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

5.6 ina big snow morning in Beacon: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.6Nov

6.3Dec

5.6Jan

8.9Feb

8.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 15.7 in on March 15, 2017
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 51.1 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 5.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.1 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 York rule

How New York counts a lost day

New York requires 180 days of session plus 900 hours a year for kindergarten to grade 6 and 990 hours for grades 7 to 12. The Commissioner can excuse up to 5 days closed for extraordinary weather, but only if the district cannot make them up by using all its scheduled vacation days before the June Regents exams.

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

Next door

Districts near Beacon

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Newburgh City School DistrictNewburgh	30.6 in	1.3
Cornwall Central School DistrictCornwall on Hudson	28.3 in	1.6
Wappingers Central School DistrictHopewell Junction	30.6 in	1.3	4
Highland Falls Central School DistrictHighland Falls	28.3 in	1.6
Putnam Valley Central School DistrictPutnam Valley	28.3 in	1.6
Marlboro Central School DistrictMilton	30.6 in	1.3

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Beacon High School

Middle

Rombout Middle School

Elementary

Glenham School, Fishkill
Sargent School
South Avenue School
J V Forrestal Elementary School

Questions

Beacon snow day questions

How much snow does Beacon get?

What was the biggest snow day near Beacon?

How does the Beacon snow day predictor work?

How does New York handle snow days?

Can New York schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

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