Ligonier, Pennsylvania, 1,375 students in 4 schools

Ligonier Valley School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Ligonier get?

About 59.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.9 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 8.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.1 with 4 inches or more.

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

14 inches on December 17, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 94.1 inches.

Q: Does Ligonier Valley get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

Ligonier Valley averages 3.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 96 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

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

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ligonier 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 Ligonier Valley’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.9 miles away.

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

The next three school mornings

Will Ligonier Valley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Ligonier Valley’s snow record

59.3inches of snow a winter

8.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.1with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Ligonier Valley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 96% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

3.6Nov

14.4Dec

17.9Jan

14.1Feb

7.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 94.1 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 13.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.9 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 Ligonier Valley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Derry Area School DistrictDerry	17.5 in	0.5
Greater Latrobe School DistrictLatrobe	17.5 in	0.5
North Star School DistrictBoswell	118.6 in	5
Blairsville-Saltsburg School DistrictBlairsville	32.8 in	1.3
Westmont Hilltop School DistrictJohnstown	56.1 in	2
Mount Pleasant Area School DistrictMount Pleasant	59.3 in	3.1

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Ligonier Valley HS

Middle

Ligonier Valley MS

Elementary

Mellon El Sch
Laurel Valley El Sch, New Florence

Questions

Ligonier Valley snow day questions

How much snow does Ligonier get?

What was the biggest snow day near Ligonier Valley?

Does Ligonier Valley get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Ligonier Valley 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.