Hellertown, Pennsylvania, 1,931 students in 3 schools

Saucon Valley School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Hellertown get?

About 33.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Saucon Valley?

22.8 inches on February 2, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 66.2 inches.

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

Saucon Valley averages 1.9 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 87 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Saucon Valley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Hellertown 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 Saucon Valley’s own big snow morning: 4.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Saucon Valley, measured against Saucon Valley's own big snow morning of 4.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Saucon Valley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Saucon Valley’s snow record

33.8inches of snow a winter

3.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.9with 4 in or more

4.5 ina big snow morning in Saucon Valley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 87% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

1.1Nov

4.6Dec

7Jan

12.4Feb

7.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 22.8 in on February 2, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 66.2 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.7 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 Saucon Valley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Bethlehem Area School DistrictBethlehem	27.8 in	0.9
Southern Lehigh School DistrictCenter Valley	33.8 in	1.9
Salisbury Township School DistrictAllentown	27.8 in	0.9
Allentown City School DistrictAllentown	27.8 in	0.9
Palisades School DistrictKintnersville	19.7 in	0.9
Catasauqua Area School DistrictCatasauqua	27.8 in	0.9

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Saucon Valley SHS

Middle

Saucon Valley MS

Elementary

Saucon Valley El Sch

Questions

Saucon Valley snow day questions

How much snow does Hellertown get?

What was the biggest snow day near Saucon Valley?

Does Saucon Valley get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Saucon Valley 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.