Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 4,671 students in 8 schools

Mechanicsburg Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Mechanicsburg get?

About 23.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.3 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Mechanicsburg?

13.5 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.3 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 36.3 inches.

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

Mechanicsburg averages 1.2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 54 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Mechanicsburg snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Mechanicsburg 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 Mechanicsburg’s own big snow morning: 5.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.3 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Mechanicsburg, measured against Mechanicsburg's own big snow morning of 5.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Mechanicsburg close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Mechanicsburg’s snow record

23.8inches of snow a winter

3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.2with 4 in or more

5.6 ina big snow morning in Mechanicsburg: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 54% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

1.1Nov

2.9Dec

6.8Jan

7.3Feb

5.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 13.5 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 36.3 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 4.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 8.3 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 Mechanicsburg

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Cumberland Valley School DistrictMechanicsburg	21.6 in	1.5
Camp Hill School DistrictCamp Hill	23.8 in	1.2
East Pennsboro Area School DistrictEnola	23.8 in	1.2
Harrisburg City School DistrictHarrisburg	23.8 in	1.2	4
Northern York County School DistrictDillsburg	21.6 in	1.5
South Middleton School DistrictBoiling Springs	21.6 in	1.5

The schools

8 schools

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

High

Mechanicsburg Area SHS

Middle

Mechanicsburg MS

Elementary

Elmwood Academy
Kindergarten Academy
Upper Allen El Sch
Shepherdstown El Sch
Broad Street El Sch
Northside El Sch

Questions

Mechanicsburg snow day questions

How much snow does Mechanicsburg get?

What was the biggest snow day near Mechanicsburg?

Does Mechanicsburg get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Mechanicsburg 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.