Throop, Pennsylvania, 1,940 students in 2 schools

Mid Valley School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Throop get?

About 35.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.1 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.9 with 4 inches or more.

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

22.1 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.1 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 55.5 inches.

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

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Throop 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 Mid Valley’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.1 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 Mid Valley, measured against Mid Valley's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Mid Valley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Mid Valley’s snow record

35.1inches of snow a winter

3.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.9with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Mid Valley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

3.6Nov

7.1Dec

8.9Jan

7.3Feb

7.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 22.1 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 55.5 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 7.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.1 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 Mid Valley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Dunmore School DistrictDunmore	35.1 in	0.9
Scranton School DistrictScranton	35.1 in	0.9
Valley View School DistrictArchbald	35.1 in	0.9
Abington Heights School DistrictClarks Summit	35.1 in	0.9
Riverside School DistrictTaylor	35.1 in	0.9
Lakeland School DistrictScott Township	54.8 in	3.3

The schools

2 schools

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

High

Mid Valley Secondary Center

Elementary

Mid Valley El Ctr

Questions

Mid Valley snow day questions

How much snow does Throop get?

What was the biggest snow day near Mid Valley?

How does the Mid 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.