Malvern, Pennsylvania, 4,801 students in 6 schools

Great Valley School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Malvern get?

About 15.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.9 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Great Valley?

12 inches on February 2, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.9 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 45.3 inches.

Q: How does the Great Valley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Malvern 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 Great Valley’s own big snow morning: 5.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.9 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 Great Valley, measured against Great Valley's own big snow morning of 5.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Great Valley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Great Valley’s snow record

15.6inches of snow a winter

2.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.1with 4 in or more

5.4 ina big snow morning in Great Valley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.6Nov

2.4Dec

4.8Jan

5.6Feb

2.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on February 2, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 45.3 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.9 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 Great Valley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
West Chester Area School DistrictExton	15.6 in	1.1	1
Phoenixville Area School DistrictPhoenixville	15.6 in	1.1
Tredyffrin-Easttown School DistrictWayne	15.6 in	1.1
Radnor Township School DistrictWayne	12.7 in	0.8
Upper Merion Area School DistrictKing of Prussia	15.6 in	1.1
Marple Newtown School DistrictNewtown Square	12.7 in	0.8

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Great Valley HS

Middle

Great Valley MS

Elementary

Kathryn D. Markley El Sch
General Wayne El Sch
Sugartown El Sch
Charlestown El Sch

Questions

Great Valley snow day questions

How much snow does Malvern get?

What was the biggest snow day near Great Valley?

How does the Great Valley 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.