Albion, Pennsylvania, 1,208 students in 4 schools

Northwestern School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Albion get?

About 85.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.2 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 10.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Northwestern?

14 inches on January 17, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.2 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 125.2 inches.

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

Northwestern averages 3.9 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 98 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Northwestern snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Albion 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 Northwestern’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Northwestern, measured against Northwestern's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Northwestern close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Northwestern’s snow record

85.2inches of snow a winter

10.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.9with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Northwestern: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 98% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

10.7Nov

21Dec

27Jan

14.1Feb

9.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14 in on January 17, 2022
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 125.2 in
6 in mornings 1.6 a winter
1 in mornings 17.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.2 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 Northwestern

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Girard School DistrictGirard	79.1 in	4.3
Fairview School DistrictFairview	79.1 in	4.3
General McLane School DistrictEdinboro	79.1 in	4.3
Penncrest School DistrictSaegertown	85.2 in	3.9
Conneaut School DistrictLinesville	44.8 in	2.1
Millcreek Township School DistrictErie	79.1 in	4.3

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Northwestern SHS

Middle

Northwestern MS

Elementary

Northwestern El Sch
Springfield El Sch, East Springfield

Questions

Northwestern snow day questions

How much snow does Albion get?

What was the biggest snow day near Northwestern?

Does Northwestern get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Northwestern 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.