Boswell, Pennsylvania, 1,019 students in 3 schools

North Star School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Boswell get?

About 118.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5.7 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 14.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near North Star?

15.7 inches on January 20, 2025, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5.7 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 155.6 inches.

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

North Star averages 5 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 100 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the North Star snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Boswell 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 North Star’s own big snow morning: 5.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5.7 miles away.

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

The next three school mornings

Will North Star close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

North Star’s snow record

118.6inches of snow a winter

14.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

5with 4 in or more

5.4 ina big snow morning in North Star: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 100% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

8.9Nov

22.1Dec

38.3Jan

23.8Feb

16.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 15.7 in on January 20, 2025
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 155.6 in
6 in mornings 2.3 a winter
1 in mornings 21.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5.7 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 North Star

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Somerset Area School DistrictSomerset	75.1 in	2.9
Westmont Hilltop School DistrictJohnstown	56.1 in	2
Windber Area School DistrictWindber	56.1 in	2
Ligonier Valley School DistrictLigonier	59.3 in	3.1
Richland School DistrictJohnstown	56.1 in	2
Greater Johnstown School DistrictJohnstown	56.1 in	2

The schools

3 schools

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

High

North Star HS

Middle

North Star East MS, Stoystown

Elementary

North Star Central El Sch

Questions

North Star snow day questions

How much snow does Boswell get?

What was the biggest snow day near North Star?

Does North Star get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the North Star 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.