HHS Hit with the First Snowstorm of the Year

Students from throughout Central New York were ecstatic on Monday, November 21st because many schools had their first snow day. The luck did not end there for Homer students, however. Homer’s Superintendent, Ms. Nancy Ruscio, made the following Tuesday a snow day as well. This gave students and teachers of Homer an entire week off for Thanksgiving!

These closings were caused by an early-season snowstorm that ripped across New York State two weeks ago. It was the first large snow storm of the school year. Prior to the storm’s arrival, everyone was talking about it. Students and teachers alike had their fingers crossed for a snow day. Homer’s lucky second day can be explained by one technicality. On Tuesday morning, Cayuga County still had a traffic advisory in place. Since Homer school buses could not enter Cayuga County on their routes, the district closed down.

Nearly two feet of snow was dumped in Cortland County by the time the storm passed. According to an article by The Cortland Voice, “The National Weather Service recorded 14 inches in Cortland as of 12 a.m. Tuesday, though snowfall continued through Tuesday morning” (Blanchard 5). Meteorologist Brian Donegan, however, “measured 19 inches of snow in his backyard in Cortland” (Blanchard 5). These statistics, however, seem minuscule when compared to the area that received the most snow from the storm. According to the same article, “The highest recorded snowfall in New York State was 54.5 inches in the town of Redfield, in Oswego County” (Blanchard 6). With such significant figures so early in the season, this winter could possibly be a very rough and snowy ride. According to an article by syracuse.com, Syracuse received 71.6 inches of snow last year; this was significantly less than the average of 103.6 inches. Even with such low numbers, Syracuse won the title of snowiest city in the country. As seen in Redfield, snowfall statistics for this year are already approaching the totals from last year, and the snow season has hardly started.

While the two snow days were momentary victories for Homer students and staff, it could come back to haunt them. The district allows a maximum of five snow days. If the district has more than five snow days, it must compensate by lengthening the school year. This can be done by adding days onto the end of the year or taking away days that were originally planned to be days-off. These two snow days were highly appreciated by Homer students because it produced a week-long Thanksgiving vacation. The fact that two out of five snow days have been used, however, is concerning because it is only November. Homer is bound to receive a lot more snow before winter ends. Whether or not the district can make it through the winter with three remaining snow days is uncertain. It will depend on what the rest of the winter has in store.

Works Cited:

Blanchard, Peter. “Cortland snowstorm lasted 51 straight hours; 19 inches of snow measured.”

The Cortland Voice, http://cortlandvoice.com/2016/11/22/cortland-snowstorm-51-hours-19-inches/. Accessed 28 November 2016.

Coin, Glenn. “Syracuse, a snowfall slacker this year, still climbs to No. 1 in US.”

syracuse.com, http://www.syracuse.com/weather/index.ssf/2016/03/syracuse_a_snowfall_underachiever_this_year_but_still_tops_in_us.html. Accessed 28 November 2016.