Ardmore, Pennsylvania, 8,518 students in 11 schools

Lower Merion School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: When is the last day of school for Lower Merion?

June 17, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Ardmore get?

About 12.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4.9 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Lower Merion?

7.7 inches on February 23, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 4.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 31.3 inches.

Q: How does the Lower Merion snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ardmore 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 Lower Merion’s own big snow morning: 5.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Lower Merion, measured against Lower Merion's own big snow morning of 5.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Lower Merion close tomorrow?

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

The Lower Merion playbook

How Lower Merion calls a snow day

How families hear

By email, text message, the district website and social media.

“Lower Merion School District uses School Messenger, the District website and Facebook to communicate with students, families and staff. In an emergency, School Messenger will be used to contact parents and guardians directly via email and text as quickly as possible.”

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day September 8, 2026
Winter break Dec 24 to Jan 1
Last day June 17, 2027

District calendar

Read from Lower Merion’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is lmsd.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

Lower Merion’s snow record

12.7inches of snow a winter

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

0.8with 4 in or more

5.4 ina big snow morning in Lower Merion: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.3Nov

1.4Dec

4.1Jan

4.7Feb

2.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.7 in on February 23, 2026
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 31.3 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 3.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 4.9 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 Lower Merion

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Haverford Township School DistrictHavertown	12.7 in	0.8
Upper Darby School DistrictUpper Darby	14.9 in	0.7
William Penn School DistrictLansdowne	14.9 in	0.7
Marple Newtown School DistrictNewtown Square	12.7 in	0.8
Radnor Township School DistrictWayne	12.7 in	0.8
Springfield School DistrictSpringfield	14.9 in	0.7

The schools

11 schools

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

High

Lower Merion HS
Harriton SHS, Rosemont

Middle

Black Rock MS, Villanova
Welsh Valley MS, Narberth
Bala-Cynwyd MS, Bala Cynwyd

Elementary

Penn Wynne Sch, Wynnewood
Gladwyne Sch, Gladwyne
Penn Valley Sch, Narberth
Cynwyd Sch, Bala Cynwyd
Merion El Sch, Merion Station
Belmont Hills El Sch, Bala Cynwyd

Questions

Lower Merion snow day questions

How does Lower Merion announce a snow day?

When is the last day of school for Lower Merion?

How much snow does Ardmore get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lower Merion?

How does the Lower Merion 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.