Fishertown, Pennsylvania, 1,233 students in 3 schools

Chestnut Ridge School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Fishertown get?

About 29.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 7.3 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Chestnut Ridge?

9.2 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 7.3 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 46.4 inches.

Q: Does Chestnut Ridge get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

Chestnut Ridge averages 1.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 73 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Chestnut Ridge snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Fishertown 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 Chestnut Ridge’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 7.3 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Chestnut Ridge, measured against Chestnut Ridge's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Chestnut Ridge close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Chestnut Ridge’s snow record

29.1inches of snow a winter

3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.4with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Chestnut Ridge: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 73% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

1.8Nov

4.3Dec

6.8Jan

7.2Feb

7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9.2 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 46.4 in
6 in mornings 0.9 a winter
1 in mornings 5.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 7.3 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 Chestnut Ridge

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Bedford Area School DistrictBedford	29.1 in	1.4
Windber Area School DistrictWindber	56.1 in	2
Everett Area School DistrictEverett	26.8 in	1.3
Richland School DistrictJohnstown	56.1 in	2
Forest Hills School DistrictSidman	56.1 in	2
Spring Cove School DistrictRoaring Spring	30.5 in	1

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Chestnut Ridge SHS, New Paris

Middle

Chestnut Ridge MS

Elementary

Chestnut Ridge Central El Sch, New Paris

Questions

Chestnut Ridge snow day questions

How much snow does Fishertown get?

What was the biggest snow day near Chestnut Ridge?

Does Chestnut Ridge get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Chestnut Ridge 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.