Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, 2,325 students in 6 schools

Elizabeth Forward School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Elizabeth get?

About 10.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Elizabeth Forward?

7 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 17.8 inches.

Q: How does the Elizabeth Forward snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth Forward’s own big snow morning: 2.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.2 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 Elizabeth Forward, measured against Elizabeth Forward's own big snow morning of 2.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Elizabeth Forward close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Elizabeth Forward’s snow record

10.1inches of snow a winter

1.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.3with 4 in or more

2.5 ina big snow morning in Elizabeth Forward: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.5school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0Nov

1.9Dec

5.4Jan

2.4Feb

0.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 17.8 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 3.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 8.2 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 Elizabeth Forward

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
South Allegheny School DistrictMc Keesport	10.1 in	0.3
McKeesport Area School DistrictMcKeesport	10.1 in	0.3
Yough School DistrictHerminie	17.1 in	0.5
West Jefferson Hills School DistrictJefferson Hills	10.1 in	0.3
Norwin School DistrictNorth Huntingdon	17.1 in	0.5
East Allegheny School DistrictNorth Versailles	10.1 in	0.3

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Elizabeth Forward SHS

Middle

Elizabeth Forward MS

Elementary

William Penn El Sch, Monongahela
Central El Sch
Mt Vernon El Sch, McKeesport
Greenock El Sch, McKeesport

Questions

Elizabeth Forward snow day questions

How much snow does Elizabeth get?

What was the biggest snow day near Elizabeth Forward?

How does the Elizabeth Forward 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.