Thorndale, Pennsylvania, 5,340 students in 9 schools

Coatesville Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Thorndale get?

About 17.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 15.5 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Coatesville?

7.5 inches on December 17, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 15.5 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 37 inches.

Q: How does the Coatesville snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Thorndale 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 Coatesville’s own big snow morning: 3.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 15.5 miles away.

Q: Can Pennsylvania schools hold a remote day instead?

A district with a PDE accepted plan can turn up to five closure days a year, including snow days, into Flexible Instructional Days that count as school days; they can be online, offline or both.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Coatesville, measured against Coatesville's own big snow morning of 3.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Coatesville close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Coatesville’s snow record

17.8inches of snow a winter

2.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.9with 4 in or more

3.8 ina big snow morning in Coatesville: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0Nov

3.2Dec

6.6Jan

7.1Feb

0.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.5 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 37 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 3.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 15.5 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 Coatesville

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Downingtown Area School DistrictDowningtown	17.8 in	0.9
Unionville-Chadds Ford School DistrictKennett Square	3.6 in	0
West Chester Area School DistrictExton	15.6 in	1.1	1
Octorara Area School DistrictAtglen	18.7 in	0.4
Kennett Consolidated School DistrictKennett Square	3.6 in	0
Twin Valley School DistrictElverson	17.8 in	0.9

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Coatesville Area SHS, Coatesville

Middle

North Brandywine MS, Coatesville
Scott MS, Coatesville

Elementary

Rainbow El Sch, Coatesville
Kings Highway El Sch, Coatesville
Caln El Sch
Reeceville El Sch, Coatesville
East Fallowfield El Sch, East Fallowfield

Other schools

Coatesville Intermediate HS, Coatsville

Questions

Coatesville snow day questions

How much snow does Thorndale get?

What was the biggest snow day near Coatesville?

How does the Coatesville snow day predictor work?

How does Pennsylvania handle snow days?

Can Pennsylvania schools hold a remote day instead?

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.