Tonawanda, New York, 1,717 students in 2 schools

Tonawanda City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Tonawanda get?

About 72.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7.5 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 Tonawanda?

18 inches on December 24, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 94.4 inches.

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

Tonawanda 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 Tonawanda snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Tonawanda 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 Tonawanda’s own big snow morning: 3.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Tonawanda, measured against Tonawanda's own big snow morning of 3.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Tonawanda close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Tonawanda’s snow record

72.6inches of snow a winter

7.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.6with 4 in or more

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

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

5.5Nov

17.2Dec

24Jan

15.6Feb

8.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 18 in on December 24, 2022
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 94.4 in
6 in mornings 0.9 a winter
1 in mornings 13.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.6 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 Tonawanda

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
North Tonawanda City School DistrictNorth Tonawanda	75.2 in	2.6
Grand Island Central School DistrictGrand Island	54.8 in	1.6
Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School DistrictBuffalo	72.6 in	2.6
Sweet Home Central School DistrictAmherst	75.2 in	2.6
Amherst Central School DistrictAmherst	69 in	2.6
Niagara Falls City School DistrictNiagara Falls	54.8 in	1.6	3

The schools

2 schools

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

High

Tonawanda Middle/High School

Elementary

Tonawanda Elementary School

Questions

Tonawanda snow day questions

How much snow does Tonawanda get?

What was the biggest snow day near Tonawanda?

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

How does the Tonawanda 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.