Grand Junction, Colorado, 20,078 students in 46 schools

Mesa County Valley School District 51 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Grand Junction get?

About 7.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 0.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Mesa County Valley?

6 inches on October 26, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 12.3 inches.

Q: How does the Mesa County Valley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Grand Junction 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 Mesa County Valley’s own big snow morning: 2.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away.

Q: How far ahead does the Mesa County Valley snow day predictor look?

Three school mornings, as far as the National Weather Service hourly forecast reaches. Weekends and breaks are skipped, so a Friday storm is read for Monday’s buses.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Mesa County Valley, measured against Mesa County Valley's own big snow morning of 2.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Mesa County Valley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Mesa County Valley’s snow record

7.8inches of snow a winter

0.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0with 4 in or more

2.1 ina big snow morning in Mesa County Valley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.7Nov

1.5Dec

1.4Jan

1.4Feb

1.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 6 in on October 26, 2020
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 12.3 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 2.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1 mile 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 Colorado rule

How Colorado counts a lost day

Colorado requires at least 160 days, with 1,080 scheduled hours in secondary school and 990 in elementary. The scheduled hours can drop to 1,056 (secondary), 968 (elementary), 870 (full-day kindergarten) or 435 (half-day kindergarten) to cover conferences, staff training and closings the board judges necessary for student health, safety or welfare.

The Colorado rules in the agency’s own words, and every Colorado district

Next door

Districts near Mesa County Valley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Delta County School District 50JDelta	8.1 in	0.1
Garfield School District RE-2Rifle	24.6 in	0.4
Montrose County School District RE-1JMontrose	23.1 in	0.7
Roaring Fork School District RE-1Carbondale	45.2 in	1
Eagle County School District RE 50Eagle	90.9 in	2.9
Durango School District 9-RDurango	54 in	2.9

The schools

46 schools, the 40 largest here

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

High

Grand Junction High School
Central High School
Fruita Monument High School, Fruita
Palisade High School, Palisade
R-5 High School

Middle

Redlands Middle School
Orchard Mesa Middle School
Bookcliff Middle School
Mount Garfield Middle School, Clifton
Grand Mesa Middle School
West Middle School
Fruita Middle School, Fruita

Elementary

Independence Academy
Appleton Elementary School
Thunder Mountain Elementary School
Pear Park Elementary School
Rocky Mountain Elementary School, Clifton
Shelledy Elementary School, Fruita
Pomona Elementary School
Juniper Ridge Community School
Wingate Elementary School
Fruitvale Elementary School
Clifton Elementary School, Clifton
Chatfield Elementary School
Mesa View Elementary School
Chipeta Elementary School
Tope Elementary School
Nisley Elementary School
Rim Rock Elementary School, Fruita
Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary School
Monument Ridge Elementary School, Fruita
Orchard Avenue Elementary School
Dual Immersion Academy School
Taylor Elementary School, Palisade
Broadway Elementary School
Dos Rios Elementary School
Loma Elementary School, Loma
Scenic Elementary School

Other schools

Fruita 8/9 School, Fruita
Grand River Academy

Questions

Mesa County Valley snow day questions

How much snow does Grand Junction get?

What was the biggest snow day near Mesa County Valley?

How does the Mesa County Valley snow day predictor work?

How does Colorado handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Mesa County Valley snow day predictor look?

More winter

More for Colorado 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.Colorado winter forecastThe season ahead for Colorado: 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.