Palmerton, Pennsylvania, 1,666 students in 5 schools

Palmerton Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Palmerton get?

About 22.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4.8 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Palmerton?

12 inches on February 2, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 4.8 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 49.2 inches.

Q: How does the Palmerton snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Palmerton 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 Palmerton’s own big snow morning: 6.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4.8 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 Palmerton, measured against Palmerton's own big snow morning of 6.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Palmerton close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Palmerton’s snow record

22.2inches of snow a winter

2.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.1with 4 in or more

6.8 ina big snow morning in Palmerton: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0Nov

5.3Dec

6Jan

8Feb

2.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on February 2, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 49.2 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 4.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 4.8 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 Palmerton

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Northern Lehigh School DistrictSlatington	25.7 in	1.2
Lehighton Area School DistrictLehighton	22.2 in	1.1
Jim Thorpe Area School DistrictJim Thorpe	22.2 in	1.1
Northampton Area School DistrictNorthampton	27.8 in	0.9
Northwestern Lehigh School DistrictNew Tripoli	25.7 in	1.2
Whitehall-Coplay School DistrictWhitehall	27.8 in	0.9

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Palmerton Area HS

Middle

Palmerton Area JHS

Elementary

S S Palmer El Sch
Towamensing El Sch, Lehighton
Parkside Education Center

Questions

Palmerton snow day questions

How much snow does Palmerton get?

What was the biggest snow day near Palmerton?

How does the Palmerton 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.