Lancaster, New York, 5,412 students in 7 schools

Lancaster Central School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Lancaster get?

About 92.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 8.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Lancaster?

27.1 inches on December 24, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 133.5 inches.

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

Lancaster averages 3.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 72 percent of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Lancaster snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Lancaster 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 Lancaster’s own big snow morning: 4.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.4 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Lancaster, measured against Lancaster's own big snow morning of 4.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Lancaster close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Lancaster’s snow record

92.2inches of snow a winter

8.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.4with 4 in or more

4.2 ina big snow morning in Lancaster: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 72% of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

8.1Nov

24.4Dec

30.8Jan

16.8Feb

9.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 27.1 in on December 24, 2022
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 133.5 in
6 in mornings 1.7 a winter
1 in mornings 16.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.4 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 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 Lancaster

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Depew Union Free School DistrictDepew	92.2 in	3.4
Cheektowaga Central School DistrictCheektowaga	69 in	2.6
Cheektowaga-Maryvale Union Free School DistrictCheektowaga	92.6 in	3.6
Clarence Central School DistrictClarence	71.2 in	3
Cleveland Hill Union Free School DistrictCheektowaga	69 in	2.6
Iroquois Central School DistrictElma	113.4 in	5.3

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Lancaster High School

Middle

William Street School
Lancaster Middle School

Elementary

Hillview Elementary School
John A Sciole Elementary School, Depew
Como Park Elementary School
Court Street Elementary School

Questions

Lancaster snow day questions

How much snow does Lancaster get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lancaster?

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

How does the Lancaster 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.