Saranac Lake, New York, 1,064 students in 4 schools

Saranac Lake Central School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Saranac Lake get?

About 133.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5.9 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 14.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 4.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Saranac Lake?

34.3 inches on March 15, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5.9 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 186 inches.

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

Saranac Lake averages 4.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 83 percent of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Saranac Lake snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Saranac Lake 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 Saranac Lake’s own big snow morning: 3.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Saranac Lake, measured against Saranac Lake's own big snow morning of 3.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Saranac Lake close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Saranac Lake’s snow record

133.5inches of snow a winter

14.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

4.1with 4 in or more

3.7 ina big snow morning in Saranac Lake: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 83% of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

17.8Nov

26.8Dec

31.9Jan

29Feb

20Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 34.3 in on March 15, 2017
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 186 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 23.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5.9 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 Saranac Lake

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
AuSable Valley Central School DistrictClintonville	76.3 in	3.1
Saranac Central School DistrictDannemora	76.3 in	3.1
Peru Central School DistrictPeru	76.3 in	3.1
Malone Central School DistrictMalone	95.9 in	4
Plattsburgh City School DistrictPlattsburgh	76.3 in	3.1
Beekmantown Central School DistrictWest Chazy	76.3 in	3.1

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Saranac Lake Senior High School

Middle

Saranac Lake Middle School

Elementary

Petrova Elementary School
Bloomingdale School

Questions

Saranac Lake snow day questions

How much snow does Saranac Lake get?

What was the biggest snow day near Saranac Lake?

Does Saranac Lake get more snow days than other New York districts?

How does the Saranac Lake 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.