Snow Day Predictor for Pennsylvania

Browse snow day predictions for all 140 cities in Pennsylvania. Select your city to check tomorrow's school closure forecast.

Every city below links to its own live snow day forecast for Pennsylvania. Find your city in the alphabetical list and click it to check today's snowfall probability and school closure forecast.

About Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania became the second state on December 12, 1787, when it ratified the U.S. Constitution just five days after Delaware. It shares borders with New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio, plus a short but consequential shoreline on Lake Erie in its northwest corner. The Census Bureau put the state's population at roughly 13.1 million in 2025, among the largest of any state. Steel and coal once defined the state, and Pittsburgh and Scranton still carry that industrial identity even as the economy shifted toward healthcare, finance, and natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. Harrisburg serves as the capital, while Philadelphia anchors the southeast corner. Pennsylvania splits its public education among nearly 500 separate school districts, each one making its own call when snow starts falling. Winter looks different depending on which part of the state you're in. Erie sits in Lake Erie's snowbelt and racks up over 100 inches most seasons, while Philadelphia, well to the southeast, often gets by on nor'easters and ice rather than deep snowpack. The Allegheny ridges push totals higher near State College, and that range is why a single statewide snow-day rule never works.

Pennsylvania Snow Day Climate and School Closures

How Pennsylvania's Climate Affects Snow Days

NOAA's 1991-2020 normals put Erie's average annual snowfall at 104.3 inches, against 44.1 in Pittsburgh, 43.8 in State College, 33.1 in Allentown, and just 23.1 in Philadelphia. That nearly five-fold spread across one state traces to Lake Erie's lake-effect machine in the northwest and elevation gains across the Alleghenies farther south.

A relentless lake-effect snow band buried Erie under a NWS-verified 32.6 inches over 24 hours on December 25-26, 2017, part of a storm that dumped 93.8 inches that December alone, a city record. (National Weather Service Cleveland - Erie Snowfall Records Report)

What Causes School Closures in Pennsylvania

Lake-effect snow off Lake Erie drives closures in the northwest, but most of the state answers to something else: hilly terrain and black ice on curvy rural roads. Pennsylvania splits decisions among nearly 500 independent school districts, so one county cancels while the next stays open, and Allegheny squalls can appear with almost no warning.

Explore Snow Day Predictions Across Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has 140 cities covered by the Snow Day Predictor. Predictions are updated hourly using real-time weather data from Open-Meteo.

Popular Cities to Check in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia. Philadelphia averages just 23.1 inches of snow a year, but the School District of Philadelphia, the state's largest, still closes fast once ice glazes the elevated I-95 ramps and rowhouse-lined streets downtown.

Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh sits where three rivers meet and gets moderate lake-effect spillover from Lake Erie, roughly 120 miles north. Steep hills and hundreds of bridges turn a routine 2-inch snow into a real hazard.

Erie. Erie sits in one of the snowiest lake-effect belts in the country, averaging 104.3 inches a year. A December 2017 storm buried the city under a NWS-verified 32.6 inches of snow in just 24 hours.

Harrisburg. Harrisburg, the state capital, sits along the Susquehanna River and averages 29.9 inches of snow a year. State offices and the legislature often delay opening after storms, a tone nearby districts often follow.

Allentown. Allentown, in the Lehigh Valley, averages 33.1 inches of snow a year, more than Philadelphia but less than the mountains to the west. Ice storms off the Atlantic complicate roads as often as snow does.

State College. State College, home to Penn State's roughly 40,000 students, averages 43.8 inches of snow a year thanks to its Allegheny elevation. A single storm can shut down the borough, since Penn State's call decides it.

A 6

Abington Aliquippa Allentown Altoona Ambridge Ardmore

B 12

Bala Cynwyd Beaver Falls Bensalem Berwick Bethel Park Bethlehem Bloomsburg Bradford Brentwood Bristol Broomall Butler

C 12

Camp Hill Carbondale Carlisle Carnegie Chambersburg Chester Coatesville Collegeville Columbia Conshohocken Coraopolis Cranberry Township

D 5

Darby Doylestown Drexel Hill DuBois Dunmore

E 9

East Norriton East Stroudsburg Easton Edinboro Elizabethtown Ellwood City Ephrata Erie Exton

G 2

Gettysburg Greensburg

H 8

Hanover Harrisburg Hatboro Havertown Hazleton Hermitage Horsham Huntingdon

I 2

Indiana Irwin

J 3

Jenkintown Jim Thorpe Johnstown

K 3

King of Prussia Kingston Kutztown

L 11

Lancaster Lansdale Lansdowne Latrobe Lebanon Levittown Lewisburg Lewistown Lititz Lock Haven Lower Burrell

M 11

McKeesport Meadville Mechanicsburg Media Middletown Millersville Monessen Monroeville Mount Lebanon Munhall Murrysville

N 8

Nanticoke Nazareth New Castle New Cumberland New Kensington Newtown Norristown North Wales

O 2

Oil City Old Forge

P 11

Palmyra Penn Hills Perkasie Philadelphia Phoenixville Pittsburgh Pittston Pleasant Hills Plum Pottstown Pottsville

Q 1

Quakertown

R 5

Reading Red Lion Ridley Park Ross Township Royersford

S 12

Scranton Selinsgrove Shamokin Sharon Shippensburg Souderton South Park Spring City State College Stroudsburg Sunbury Swarthmore

T 2

Tamaqua Titusville

U 2

Uniontown Upper Darby

W 11

Warren Washington Waynesboro West Chester West Mifflin West Norriton Whitehall Wilkes-Barre Williamsport Willow Grove Wyomissing

Y 1

York

Z 1

Zelienople

Frequently Asked Questions About Snow Days in Pennsylvania

Does Pennsylvania still let districts hold 'cyber snow days' instead of closing?

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Not the way it worked before. Pennsylvania let districts use online 'flexible instruction days' in place of in-person snow days for a few years, but the state ended the program after the 2017-2018 school year. Districts now fall back on traditional snow days, remote-learning days set by their own school board policy, or built-in makeup days at the end of the calendar.

How much snow does it actually take to close a Pennsylvania school?

There's no statewide threshold, superintendents decide district by district. In Erie, a couple of inches barely registers since crews and drivers are built for it. In Philadelphia's suburbs, 2 to 4 inches or a coating of ice on untreated roads is often enough. Rural districts in the Alleghenies watch wind chill and black ice as closely as snow totals.

Which Pennsylvania city gets the most snow?

Erie, without much competition. Sitting on Lake Erie's southeastern shore puts it directly in the lake-effect snowbelt, and NOAA's 1991-2020 normals put its average seasonal snowfall at 104.3 inches, more than four times Philadelphia's total. Northern and eastern suburbs of Erie, sometimes called the 'snow belt,' can see even higher totals during a strong lake-effect band.

Where can I check Pennsylvania road conditions before a winter storm?

PennDOT runs 511PA, a free site and app showing live traffic cameras, plowing status, and any active travel restrictions on interstates including I-80, I-79, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. During major storms PennDOT often posts tiered speed and vehicle restrictions there before conditions get dangerous, so checking it ahead of a commute is worth the two minutes it takes.

Do Pennsylvania school districts have to make up snow days?

State law requires a minimum of 180 instructional days, so yes, in most years. Districts build a few emergency days into the calendar as a buffer, then extend the school year, cut a scheduled break, or convert previously approved e-learning days if snow days run past that cushion. The Pennsylvania Department of Education sets the minimum; local school boards decide how to make up the rest.

What is the snowiest or most disruptive winter storm in Pennsylvania history for schools?

Erie's Christmas 2017 lake-effect storm stands out. The National Weather Service later verified 32.6 inches fell in 24 hours on December 25-26, and the city recorded 93.8 inches for the month of December alone, shutting down schools and roads across Erie County. Statewide, the March 1993 'Storm of the Century' also closed schools broadly, dumping heavy snow from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in a single system.