Elmira, New York, 5,440 students in 11 schools

Elmira City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Elmira get?

About 28.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Elmira?

20 inches on December 17, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 51.9 inches.

Q: How does the Elmira snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Elmira 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 Elmira’s own big snow morning: 3.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Elmira, measured against Elmira's own big snow morning of 3.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Elmira close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Elmira’s snow record

28.9inches of snow a winter

2.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1with 4 in or more

3.2 ina big snow morning in Elmira: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.1Nov

7.1Dec

7.9Jan

8.4Feb

2.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 20 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 51.9 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Elmira

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Elmira Heights Central School DistrictElmira Heights	28.9 in	1
Horseheads Central School DistrictHorseheads	28.1 in	1.2
Corning City School DistrictPainted Post	43.1 in	1.3
Waverly Central School DistrictWaverly	44.9 in	1.9
Addison Central School DistrictAddison	40.2 in	1.6
Owego-Apalachin Central School DistrictOwego	42.3 in	1.3

The schools

11 schools

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

High

Elmira High School

Middle

Ernie Davis Academy

Elementary

Parley Coburn School
Hendy Avenue School
Riverside Elementary
Broadway Elementary School
Thomas K Beecher School
Pine City School, Pine City
Diven School
Fassett Elementary School

Other schools

Broadway Academy

Questions

Elmira snow day questions

How much snow does Elmira get?

What was the biggest snow day near Elmira?

How does the Elmira 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.