Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, 3,324 students in 6 schools

Kiski Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Vandergrift get?

About 25.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Kiski?

9.5 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 51.4 inches.

Q: How does the Kiski snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Vandergrift 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 Kiski’s own big snow morning: 2.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.4 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 Kiski, measured against Kiski's own big snow morning of 2.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Kiski close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Kiski’s snow record

25.6inches of snow a winter

3.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.7with 4 in or more

2.4 ina big snow morning in Kiski: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.4Nov

5.3Dec

9.7Jan

5.7Feb

3.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9.5 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 51.4 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.4 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 Kiski

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Apollo-Ridge School DistrictSpring Church	25.6 in	0.7
Burrell School DistrictLower Burrell	22.2 in	0.8
Highlands School DistrictNatrona Heights	22.2 in	0.8
Freeport Area School DistrictSarver	14.6 in	0.4
Plum Borough School DistrictPlum	17.3 in	1.3
Franklin Regional School DistrictMurrysville	17.1 in	0.5

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Kiski Area HS

Middle

Kiski Area Upper El Sch, Apollo
Kiski Area IHS

Elementary

Kiski Area North Primary Sch, Leechburg
Kiski Area East Primary Sch
Kiski Area South Primary Sch, Export

Questions

Kiski snow day questions

How much snow does Vandergrift get?

What was the biggest snow day near Kiski?

How does the Kiski 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.