Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, 2,191 students in 6 schools

Tuscarora School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Mercersburg get?

About 20.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 15.9 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Tuscarora?

11 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 15.9 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 38.8 inches.

Q: How does the Tuscarora snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Mercersburg 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 Tuscarora’s own big snow morning: 4.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 15.9 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 Tuscarora, measured against Tuscarora's own big snow morning of 4.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Tuscarora close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Tuscarora’s snow record

20.8inches of snow a winter

2.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1with 4 in or more

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

0.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.1Nov

3.1Dec

5.6Jan

7.1Feb

4.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 38.8 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 3.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 15.9 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 Tuscarora

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Greencastle-Antrim School DistrictGreencastle	16.6 in	0.8
Chambersburg Area School DistrictChambersburg	20.8 in	1
Waynesboro Area School DistrictWaynesboro	16.6 in	0.9
Shippensburg Area School DistrictShippensburg	22.6 in	0.9
Southern Huntingdon County School DistrictThree Springs	28.6 in	1.6
Everett Area School DistrictEverett	26.8 in	1.3

The schools

6 schools

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

High

James Buchanan HS

Middle

James Buchanan MS

Elementary

St Thomas El Sch, Saint Thomas
Mercersburg El Sch
Montgomery El Sch
Mountain View El Sch

Questions

Tuscarora snow day questions

How much snow does Mercersburg get?

What was the biggest snow day near Tuscarora?

How does the Tuscarora 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.