Three Springs, Pennsylvania, 1,037 students in 4 schools

Southern Huntingdon County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Three Springs get?

About 28.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 14 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Southern Huntingdon?

10.4 inches on November 16, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 14 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 42.5 inches.

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

Southern Huntingdon averages 1.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 81 percent of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Southern Huntingdon snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Three Springs 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 Southern Huntingdon’s own big snow morning: 4.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 14 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Southern Huntingdon, measured against Southern Huntingdon's own big snow morning of 4.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Southern Huntingdon close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Southern Huntingdon’s snow record

28.6inches of snow a winter

3.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

4.8 ina big snow morning in Southern Huntingdon: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.7school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 81% of the 490 Pennsylvania districts with a station record.

1.7Nov

4.4Dec

9.2Jan

7.5Feb

4.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.4 in on November 16, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 42.5 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 5.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 14 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 Southern Huntingdon

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Mount Union Area School DistrictMount Union	28.6 in	1.6
Huntingdon Area School DistrictHuntingdon	28.6 in	1.6
Shippensburg Area School DistrictShippensburg	22.6 in	0.9
Chambersburg Area School DistrictChambersburg	20.8 in	1
Spring Cove School DistrictRoaring Spring	30.5 in	1
Tuscarora School DistrictMercersburg	20.8 in	1

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Southern Huntingdon Co HS/MS

Elementary

Spring Farms El Sch
Rockhill El Sch, Rockhill Furnace
Shade Gap El Sch, Shade Gap

Questions

Southern Huntingdon snow day questions

How much snow does Three Springs get?

What was the biggest snow day near Southern Huntingdon?

Does Southern Huntingdon get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the Southern Huntingdon 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.