Niles, Michigan, 1,321 students in 5 schools

Brandywine Community Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Niles get?

About 55.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.9 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Brandywine?

12 inches on January 15, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.9 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 111.3 inches.

Q: Does Brandywine get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

Brandywine averages 3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 81 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Brandywine snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Niles 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 Brandywine’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Brandywine, measured against Brandywine's own big snow morning of 5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Brandywine close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Brandywine’s snow record

55.9inches of snow a winter

7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3with 4 in or more

5 ina big snow morning in Brandywine: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

2.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 81% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

6.2Nov

12.8Dec

22Jan

12.5Feb

1.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on January 15, 2026
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 111.3 in
6 in mornings 1.3 a winter
1 in mornings 11.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.9 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 Brandywine

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Niles Community School DistrictNiles	55.9 in	3
Buchanan Community School DistrictBuchanan	60.9 in	1.8
Edwardsburg Public SchoolsEdwardsburg	26.5 in	0.6
Berrien Springs Public SchoolsBerrien Springs	55.9 in	3
Dowagiac Union SchoolsDowagiac	39.5 in	1.6
Lakeshore School DistrictStevensville	46.3 in	1.8

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Brandywine Senior High School
Brandywine Innovation Academy

Middle

Brandywine Middle School

Elementary

Brandywine Elementary School
Merritt Elementary School

Questions

Brandywine snow day questions

How much snow does Niles get?

What was the biggest snow day near Brandywine?

Does Brandywine get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Brandywine snow day predictor work?

How does Michigan handle snow days?

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.