Poughkeepsie, New York, 1,584 students in 4 schools

Spackenkill Union Free School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Poughkeepsie get?

About 30.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Spackenkill?

15.7 inches on March 15, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 51.1 inches.

Q: How does the Spackenkill snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Poughkeepsie 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 Spackenkill’s own big snow morning: 5.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.8 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 Spackenkill, measured against Spackenkill's own big snow morning of 5.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Spackenkill close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Spackenkill’s snow record

30.6inches of snow a winter

4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

5.6 ina big snow morning in Spackenkill: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.6Nov

6.3Dec

5.6Jan

8.9Feb

8.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 15.7 in on March 15, 2017
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 51.1 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 5.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.8 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 Spackenkill

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Marlboro Central School DistrictMilton	30.6 in	1.3
Poughkeepsie City School DistrictPoughkeepsie	28.4 in	1.4
Highland Central School DistrictHighland	28.4 in	1.4
Arlington Central School DistrictLagrangeville	44.6 in	2.1	4
Hyde Park Central School DistrictHyde Park	28.4 in	1.4
Wappingers Central School DistrictHopewell Junction	30.6 in	1.3	4

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Spackenkill High School

Middle

Orville A Todd Middle School

Elementary

Hagan School
Nassau School

Questions

Spackenkill snow day questions

How much snow does Poughkeepsie get?

What was the biggest snow day near Spackenkill?

How does the Spackenkill 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.