Bloomington, Illinois, 4,733 students in 9 schools

Bloomington School District 87 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Bloomington get?

About 11.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.1 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Bloomington?

8.5 inches on January 13, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.1 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 19.9 inches.

Q: How does the Bloomington snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Bloomington 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 Bloomington’s own big snow morning: 3.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.1 miles away.

Q: Can Illinois schools hold a remote day instead?

A district with a board adopted e-learning program, verified each year by its regional office, can use e-learning days in place of its emergency days, and they count as full attendance days; they cannot exceed the emergency days in the calendar.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Bloomington, measured against Bloomington's own big snow morning of 3.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Bloomington close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Bloomington’s snow record

11.6inches of snow a winter

1.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.3with 4 in or more

3.3 ina big snow morning in Bloomington: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.1Nov

3.2Dec

4.3Jan

2.4Feb

0.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8.5 in on January 13, 2019
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 19.9 in
6 in mornings 0 a winter
1 in mornings 2.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.1 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 Illinois rule

How Illinois counts a lost day

Illinois requires a calendar of at least 185 days to guarantee 176 days of actual student attendance, each of at least 5 clock hours. The extra calendar days are emergency days used first; after they are gone, the State Superintendent may excuse days lost to an act of God or a hazard beyond the district's control without cutting state aid.

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

Next door

Districts near Bloomington

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
McLean County Unit School District 5Normal	11.6 in	0.3
Morton Community Unit School District 709Morton	21.7 in	0.5
Pekin Public School District108Pekin	25.5 in	0.6
Peoria School District 150Peoria	18.8 in	0.4
Mahomet-Seymour Community Unit School District 3Mahomet	2.2 in	0
Decatur School District 61Decatur	13.2 in	0.5

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Bloomington High School

Middle

Bloomington Jr High School

Elementary

Oakland Elementary School
Bent Elem School
Washington Elem School
Sheridan Elem School
Irving Elementary School
Stevenson Elem School

Other schools

Sarah A Raymond Sch of Early Educ

Questions

Bloomington snow day questions

How much snow does Bloomington get?

What was the biggest snow day near Bloomington?

How does the Bloomington snow day predictor work?

How does Illinois handle snow days?

Can Illinois schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

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