Grand Island, New York, 2,828 students in 5 schools

Grand Island Central School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Grand Island get?

About 54.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.9 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 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Grand Island?

17 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.9 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 76.9 inches.

Q: How does the Grand Island snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Grand Island 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 Grand Island’s own big snow morning: 3.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.9 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 Grand Island, measured against Grand Island's own big snow morning of 3.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Grand Island close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Grand Island’s snow record

54.8inches of snow a winter

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

1.6with 4 in or more

3.4 ina big snow morning in Grand Island: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

6.1Nov

10.2Dec

17.9Jan

12.7Feb

6.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 17 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 76.9 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 10.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.9 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 Grand Island

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Tonawanda City School DistrictTonawanda	72.6 in	2.6
North Tonawanda City School DistrictNorth Tonawanda	75.2 in	2.6
Niagara Falls City School DistrictNiagara Falls	54.8 in	1.6	3
Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School DistrictBuffalo	72.6 in	2.6
Sweet Home Central School DistrictAmherst	75.2 in	2.6
Niagara-Wheatfield Central School DistrictSanborn	77.9 in	3.1

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Grand Island Senior High School

Middle

Veronica E Connor Middle School

Elementary

Huth Road School
Charlotte Sidway School
Kaegebein School

Questions

Grand Island snow day questions

How much snow does Grand Island get?

What was the biggest snow day near Grand Island?

How does the Grand Island 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.