Hanover, Pennsylvania, 4,346 students in 6 schools

South Western School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Hanover get?

About 19.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 7.8 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near South Western?

9 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 7.8 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 34.8 inches.

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

South Western averages 1.2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 54 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the South Western snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Hanover 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 Western’s own big snow morning: 4.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 7.8 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in South Western, measured against South Western's own big snow morning of 4.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will South Western close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

South Western’s snow record

19.8inches of snow a winter

2.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.2with 4 in or more

4.9 ina big snow morning in South Western: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 54% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

0.6Nov

2.5Dec

5.7Jan

6Feb

4.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 34.8 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 4.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 7.8 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 South Western

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Littlestown Area School DistrictLittlestown	15.9 in	1.1
Conewago Valley School DistrictNew Oxford	21.9 in	1.5
Spring Grove Area School DistrictSpring Grove	19.8 in	1.2
Southern York County School DistrictGlen Rock	22.5 in	1.2
Bermudian Springs School DistrictYork Springs	21.9 in	1.5
Gettysburg Area School DistrictGettysburg	20.8 in	1.3

The schools

6 schools

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

High

South Western SHS

Middle

Emory H Markle MS

Elementary

West Manheim El Sch
Baresville El Sch
Park Hills El Sch
Manheim El Sch, Glenville

Questions

South Western snow day questions

How much snow does Hanover get?

What was the biggest snow day near South Western?

Does South Western get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the South Western 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.