Delmar, New York, 4,130 students in 7 schools

Bethlehem Central School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Delmar get?

About 47.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4.1 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Bethlehem?

18.8 inches on December 17, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 4.1 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 67.4 inches.

Q: Does Bethlehem get more snow days than other New York districts?

Bethlehem averages 3.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 64 percent of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Bethlehem snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Delmar 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 Bethlehem’s own big snow morning: 5.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4.1 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Bethlehem, measured against Bethlehem's own big snow morning of 5.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Bethlehem close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Bethlehem’s snow record

47.7inches of snow a winter

4.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.1with 4 in or more

5.5 ina big snow morning in Bethlehem: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 64% of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

1.3Nov

12.5Dec

10.8Jan

10.8Feb

11.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 18.8 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 67.4 in
6 in mornings 1.4 a winter
1 in mornings 7.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 4.1 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 Bethlehem

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Voorheesville Central School DistrictVoorheesville	47.7 in	3.1
Albany City School DistrictAlbany	47.7 in	3.1	3
Rensselaer City School DistrictRensselaer	47.7 in	3.1
East Greenbush Central School DistrictEast Greenbush	47.7 in	3.1
Guilderland Central School DistrictGuilderland Center	43.9 in	2.1
South Colonie Central School DistrictAlbany	52.3 in	2.2

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Bethlehem Central Senior High School

Middle

Bethlehem Central Middle School

Elementary

Slingerlands Elementary School
Eagle Elementary School
Glenmont Elementary School, Glenmont
Hamagrael Elementary School
Elsmere Elementary School

Questions

Bethlehem snow day questions

How much snow does Delmar get?

What was the biggest snow day near Bethlehem?

Does Bethlehem get more snow days than other New York districts?

How does the Bethlehem snow day predictor work?

How does New York handle snow days?

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.