Ambler, Pennsylvania, 5,187 students in 6 schools

Wissahickon School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Ambler get?

About 15.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.8 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Wissahickon?

12 inches on February 2, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.8 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 45.3 inches.

Q: How does the Wissahickon snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ambler 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 Wissahickon’s own big snow morning: 5.4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.8 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 Wissahickon, measured against Wissahickon's own big snow morning of 5.4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Wissahickon close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Wissahickon’s snow record

15.6inches of snow a winter

2.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.1with 4 in or more

5.4 ina big snow morning in Wissahickon: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.6Nov

2.4Dec

4.8Jan

5.6Feb

2.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on February 2, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 45.3 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.8 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 Wissahickon

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Upper Dublin School DistrictMaple Glen	15.6 in	1.1
Springfield Township School DistrictOreland	12.7 in	0.8
Colonial School DistrictPlymouth Meeting	12.7 in	0.8
North Penn School DistrictLansdale	18.3 in	1.2
Hatboro-Horsham School DistrictHorsham	13.7 in	0.8
Abington School DistrictAbington	13.7 in	0.8

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Wissahickon SHS

Middle

Wissahickon MS

Elementary

Shady Grove El Sch
Stony Creek El Sch, Blue Bell
Lower Gwynedd El Sch
Blue Bell El Sch, Blue Bell

Questions

Wissahickon snow day questions

How much snow does Ambler get?

What was the biggest snow day near Wissahickon?

How does the Wissahickon 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.