Mount Union, Pennsylvania, 1,133 students in 4 schools

Mount Union Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Mount Union get?

About 28.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Mount Union?

10.4 inches on November 16, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 42.5 inches.

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

Mount Union averages 1.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 81 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Mount Union snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Mount Union 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 Mount Union’s own big snow morning: 4.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Mount Union, measured against Mount Union's own big snow morning of 4.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Mount Union close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Mount Union’s snow record

28.6inches of snow a winter

3.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

4.8 ina big snow morning in Mount Union: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 81% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

1.7Nov

4.4Dec

9.2Jan

7.5Feb

4.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.4 in on November 16, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 42.5 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 5.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.5 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 Mount Union

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Huntingdon Area School DistrictHuntingdon	28.6 in	1.6
Southern Huntingdon County School DistrictThree Springs	28.6 in	1.6
Mifflin County School DistrictLewistown	23.1 in	1.2
Spring Cove School DistrictRoaring Spring	30.5 in	1
Hollidaysburg Area School DistrictHollidaysburg	30.5 in	1
State College Area School DistrictState College	29.5 in	0.9	All made up

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Mount Union Area SHS

Middle

Mount Union Area JHS

Elementary

Mount Union-Kistler El Sch
Shirley Twp El Sch

Questions

Mount Union snow day questions

How much snow does Mount Union get?

What was the biggest snow day near Mount Union?

Does Mount Union get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Mount Union 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.