Rexburg, Idaho, 5,771 students in 12 schools

Madison School District 321 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Rexburg get?

About 60.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4.8 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 9.1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Madison?

10 inches on December 16, 2016, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 4.8 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 87.5 inches.

Q: Does Madison get more snow days than other Idaho districts?

Madison averages 2.3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 76 percent of the 87 Idaho districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Madison snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Rexburg 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 Madison’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4.8 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Madison, measured against Madison's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Madison close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Madison’s snow record

60.1inches of snow a winter

9.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.3with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Madison: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

16.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 76% of the 87 Idaho districts with a station record.

5.3Nov

17.5Dec

14.6Jan

13.3Feb

6.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10 in on December 16, 2016
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 87.5 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 15.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 4.8 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 Idaho rule

How Idaho counts a lost day

Idaho requires at least 990 instructional hours for grades 9 to 12, 900 for grades 4 to 8, 810 for grades 1 to 3 and 450 for kindergarten. With local board approval, up to 11 hours of emergency closures for bad weather or facility failures can come off the yearly hours requirement.

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

Next door

Districts near Madison

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Jefferson County Joint School District 251Rigby	50.7 in	1.6
Bonneville Joint School District 93Idaho Falls	47.9 in	0.8
Idaho Falls School District 91Idaho Falls	47.9 in	0.8
Blackfoot School District 55Blackfoot	27.5 in	0.4
Snake River School District 52Blackfoot	27.5 in	0.4
Pocatello School District 25Pocatello	38 in	1.2

The schools

12 schools

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

High

Madison Senior High School
Central High School

Middle

Madison Junior High School
Madison Middle School

Elementary

Burton Elementary School
Kennedy Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School
Hibbard Elementary School
South Fork Elementary
Adams Elementary School
Madison Online Elementary

Other schools

Madison Early Childhood Center

Questions

Madison snow day questions

How much snow does Rexburg get?

What was the biggest snow day near Madison?

Does Madison get more snow days than other Idaho districts?

How does the Madison snow day predictor work?

How does Idaho handle snow days?

More winter

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