Amherst, New York, 3,684 students in 6 schools

Sweet Home Central School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Amherst get?

About 75.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Sweet Home?

38 inches on December 25, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 4.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 110.3 inches.

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

Sweet Home averages 2.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 53 percent of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Sweet Home snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Amherst 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 Sweet Home’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4.6 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Sweet Home, measured against Sweet Home's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Sweet Home close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Sweet Home’s snow record

75.2inches of snow a winter

6.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.6with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Sweet Home: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 53% of the 676 New York districts with a station record.

6Nov

18.8Dec

23.9Jan

16Feb

8.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 38 in on December 25, 2022
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 110.3 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 14.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 4.6 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 Sweet Home

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Williamsville Central School DistrictEast Amherst	92.6 in	3.6	4
Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School DistrictBuffalo	72.6 in	2.6
Amherst Central School DistrictAmherst	69 in	2.6
North Tonawanda City School DistrictNorth Tonawanda	75.2 in	2.6
Cleveland Hill Union Free School DistrictCheektowaga	69 in	2.6
Tonawanda City School DistrictTonawanda	72.6 in	2.6

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Sweet Home Senior High School

Middle

Sweet Home Middle School

Elementary

Maplemere Elementary School
Glendale Elementary School, Tonawanda
Heritage Heights Elementary School
Willow Ridge Elementary School

Questions

Sweet Home snow day questions

How much snow does Amherst get?

What was the biggest snow day near Sweet Home?

Does Sweet Home get more snow days than other New York districts?

How does the Sweet Home 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.