Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 4,807 students in 7 schools

Williamsport Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Williamsport get?

About 23.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.3 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Williamsport?

14.8 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.3 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2016 to 2017, with 38.8 inches.

Q: How does the Williamsport snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Williamsport 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 Williamsport’s own big snow morning: 3.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.3 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 Williamsport, measured against Williamsport's own big snow morning of 3.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Williamsport close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Williamsport’s snow record

23.9inches of snow a winter

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

0.8with 4 in or more

3.2 ina big snow morning in Williamsport: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.6Nov

4.2Dec

7.8Jan

4.7Feb

4.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14.8 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2016 to 2017, 38.8 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 4.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.3 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 Williamsport

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
South Williamsport Area School DistrictSouth Williamsport	28.5 in	0.8
Loyalsock Township School DistrictWilliamsport	28.5 in	0.8
Montoursville Area School DistrictMontoursville	27.1 in	0.6
Jersey Shore Area School DistrictJersey Shore	26.5 in	1.1
Warrior Run School DistrictTurbotville	27.1 in	0.6
East Lycoming School DistrictHughesville	27.1 in	0.6

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Williamsport Area SHS

Middle

Williamsport Area MS
Lycoming Valley Intrmd Sch
Curtin Intrmd Sch

Elementary

Jackson Primary Sch
Cochran Primary Sch
Hepburn-Lycoming Primary Sch, Cogan Station

Questions

Williamsport snow day questions

How much snow does Williamsport get?

What was the biggest snow day near Williamsport?

How does the Williamsport 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.