Pottstown, Pennsylvania, 3,308 students in 6 schools

Pottstown School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Pottstown get?

About 21.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.2 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Pottstown?

10.5 inches on March 22, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.2 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 40.4 inches.

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

Pottstown averages 1.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 73 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Pottstown snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Pottstown 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 Pottstown’s own big snow morning: 5.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Pottstown, measured against Pottstown's own big snow morning of 5.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Pottstown close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Pottstown’s snow record

21.5inches of snow a winter

2.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.4with 4 in or more

5.7 ina big snow morning in Pottstown: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 73% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

0Nov

3Dec

6Jan

8.5Feb

3.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.5 in on March 22, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 40.4 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 3.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.2 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 Pottstown

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Pottsgrove School DistrictPottstown	21.5 in	1.4
Owen J. Roberts School DistrictPottstown	17.8 in	0.9
Boyertown Area School DistrictBoyertown	21.5 in	1.4	All made up
Daniel Boone Area School DistrictBirdsboro	17.8 in	0.9
Spring-Ford Area School DistrictRoyersford	15.6 in	1.1
Perkiomen Valley School DistrictCollegeville	15.6 in	1.1

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Pottstown HS

Middle

Pottstown MS

Elementary

Rupert El Sch
Franklin El Sch
Lincoln El Sch
Barth El Sch

Questions

Pottstown snow day questions

How much snow does Pottstown get?

What was the biggest snow day near Pottstown?

Does Pottstown get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Pottstown 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.