Bethel, Pennsylvania, 1,312 students in 4 schools

Tulpehocken Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Bethel get?

About 21.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 13.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.5 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 Tulpehocken?

11.6 inches on March 21, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 13.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 40.8 inches.

Q: How does the Tulpehocken snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Bethel 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 Tulpehocken’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 13.4 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 Tulpehocken, measured against Tulpehocken's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Tulpehocken close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Tulpehocken’s snow record

21.5inches of snow a winter

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

0.9with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Tulpehocken: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.5Nov

3.2Dec

7Jan

6.3Feb

4.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.6 in on March 21, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 40.8 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 3.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 13.4 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 Tulpehocken

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Eastern Lebanon County School DistrictMyerstown	21.5 in	0.9
Pine Grove Area School DistrictPine Grove	21.5 in	0.9
Northern Lebanon School DistrictFredericksburg	21.5 in	0.9
Conrad Weiser Area School DistrictRobesonia	21.8 in	0.9
Cornwall-Lebanon School DistrictLebanon	21.5 in	0.9
Schuylkill Haven Area School DistrictSchuylkill Haven	24.9 in	1.3

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Tulpehocken Area HS, Bernville

Middle

Tulpehocken Area MS, Bernville

Elementary

Bethel El Sch
Penn Bernville El Sch, Bernville

Questions

Tulpehocken snow day questions

How much snow does Bethel get?

What was the biggest snow day near Tulpehocken?

How does the Tulpehocken 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.