York, Pennsylvania, 6,232 students in 9 schools

York City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does York get?

About 25 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.3 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 2.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near York?

12.7 inches on March 14, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.3 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 41.4 inches.

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

York 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 York snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for York 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 York’s own big snow morning: 5.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.3 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in York, measured against York's own big snow morning of 5.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will York close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

York’s snow record

25inches of snow a winter

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

1.6with 4 in or more

5.9 ina big snow morning in York: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

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

1.1Nov

4Dec

6.8Jan

6.8Feb

6.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.7 in on March 14, 2017
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 41.4 in
6 in mornings 0.9 a winter
1 in mornings 4.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.3 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 York

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
York Suburban School DistrictYork	25 in	1.6
West York Area School DistrictYork	25 in	1.6
Central York School DistrictYork	25 in	1.6
Dallastown Area School DistrictDallastown	25 in	1.6
Northeastern York School DistrictManchester	25 in	1.6
Dover Area School DistrictDover	25 in	1.6

The schools

9 schools

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

High

William Penn SHS

Elementary

Devers Sch
Hannah Penn
Ferguson Sch
Goode Sch
McKinley Sch
Davis Sch
Jackson Sch
Edgar Fahs Smith STEAM Academy

Questions

York snow day questions

How much snow does York get?

What was the biggest snow day near York?

Does York get more snow days than other Pennsylvania districts?

How does the York 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.