Birch Run, Michigan, 1,776 students in 4 schools

Birch Run Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Birch Run get?

About 34.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 13.6 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Birch Run?

10.2 inches on February 16, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 13.6 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 56 inches.

Q: How does the Birch Run snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Birch Run 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 Birch Run’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 13.6 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Birch Run 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 Birch Run, measured against Birch Run's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Birch Run close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Birch Run’s snow record

34.3inches of snow a winter

3.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Birch Run: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

7.4school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

3.6Nov

6.6Dec

9.5Jan

11.1Feb

2.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.2 in on February 16, 2021
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 56 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 8.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 13.6 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 Michigan rule

How Michigan counts a lost day

Michigan requires at least 180 days and 1,098 hours of pupil instruction. The first 6 days (or the same hours) lost to conditions outside the district's control, such as severe storms, are counted as instruction; up to 3 more can be approved by the State Superintendent.

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

Next door

Districts near Birch Run

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Clio Area School DistrictClio	50.5 in	1.1
Montrose Community SchoolsMontrose	24.3 in	0.8
Frankenmuth School DistrictFrankenmuth	34.3 in	1.3
Bridgeport-Spaulding Community School DistrictBridgeport	30.2 in	1.1
Mount Morris Consolidated School DistrictMount Morris	38.9 in	1.2
Flushing Community SchoolsFlushing	50.5 in	1.1

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Birch Run High School
Birch Run Progressive High School

Middle

Marshall Greene Middle School

Elementary

North Elementary School

Questions

Birch Run snow day questions

How much snow does Birch Run get?

What was the biggest snow day near Birch Run?

How does the Birch Run snow day predictor work?

How does Michigan handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Birch Run snow day predictor look?

More winter

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