McDonald, Pennsylvania, 3,514 students in 4 schools

South Fayette Township School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does McDonald get?

About 29.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.4 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near South Fayette Township?

10.3 inches on December 17, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.4 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 49.5 inches.

Q: How does the South Fayette Township snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for McDonald 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 South Fayette Township’s own big snow morning: 2.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.4 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 South Fayette Township, measured against South Fayette Township's own big snow morning of 2.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will South Fayette Township close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

South Fayette Township’s snow record

29.4inches of snow a winter

2.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.9with 4 in or more

2.3 ina big snow morning in South Fayette Township: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.1Nov

6.2Dec

9.8Jan

7.1Feb

4.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.3 in on December 17, 2020
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 49.5 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 6.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.4 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 South Fayette Township

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Chartiers Valley School DistrictPittsburgh	29.4 in	0.9
Carlynton School DistrictCarnegie	11.9 in	0.4
Upper St. Clair School DistrictPittsburgh	29.4 in	0.9
Mount Lebanon School DistrictPittsburgh	29.4 in	0.9
Montour School DistrictMc Kees Rocks	11.9 in	0.4
West Allegheny School DistrictImperial	37.2 in	0.8

The schools

4 schools

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

High

South Fayette HS

Middle

South Fayette MS

Elementary

South Fayette Intermediate Sch
South Fayette El Sch

Questions

South Fayette Township snow day questions

How much snow does McDonald get?

What was the biggest snow day near South Fayette Township?

How does the South Fayette Township 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.