Newville, Pennsylvania, 2,379 students in 5 schools

Big Spring School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Newville get?

About 21.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.8 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Big Spring?

12 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.8 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 40.5 inches.

Q: Does Big Spring get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

Big Spring averages 1.5 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 79 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Big Spring snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Newville 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 Big Spring’s own big snow morning: 5.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.8 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Big Spring, measured against Big Spring's own big snow morning of 5.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Big Spring close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Big Spring’s snow record

21.6inches of snow a winter

2.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.5with 4 in or more

5.4 ina big snow morning in Big Spring: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.4school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 79% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

0.7Nov

2.6Dec

6.9Jan

6.3Feb

4.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 40.5 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 4.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.8 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 Pennsylvania rule

How Pennsylvania counts a lost day

Pennsylvania requires either 180 days, or hours: 900 for kindergarten through grade 6 and 990 for grades 7 to 12, as the district chooses. The state forgives no days; districts are expected to build make-up days into the calendar for closures beyond any Flexible Instructional Days.

The Pennsylvania rules in the agency’s own words, and every Pennsylvania district

Next door

Districts near Big Spring

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Carlisle Area School DistrictCarlisle	21.6 in	1.5
Shippensburg Area School DistrictShippensburg	22.6 in	0.9
South Middleton School DistrictBoiling Springs	21.6 in	1.5
West Perry School DistrictElliottsburg	21.6 in	1.5
Cumberland Valley School DistrictMechanicsburg	21.6 in	1.5
Upper Adams School DistrictBiglerville	20.8 in	1.3

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Big Spring HS

Middle

Big Spring MS

Elementary

Oak Flat El Sch
Newville El Sch
Mount Rock Elem Sch

Questions

Big Spring snow day questions

How much snow does Newville get?

What was the biggest snow day near Big Spring?

Does Big Spring get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Big Spring snow day predictor work?

How does Pennsylvania handle snow days?

More winter

More for Pennsylvania 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.Pennsylvania winter forecastThe season ahead for Pennsylvania: 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.