Buchanan, Michigan, 1,558 students in 6 schools

Buchanan Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Buchanan get?

About 60.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Buchanan?

16.5 inches on December 25, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 109.8 inches.

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

Buchanan averages 1.8 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 58 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Buchanan snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Buchanan 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 Buchanan’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Buchanan, measured against Buchanan's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Buchanan close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Buchanan’s snow record

60.9inches of snow a winter

6.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.8with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Buchanan: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 58% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

6.9Nov

13.6Dec

21.8Jan

13.7Feb

3.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 16.5 in on December 25, 2020
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 109.8 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 11.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.4 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 Buchanan

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

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Buchanan High School

Middle

Buchanan Middle School

Elementary

Moccasin Elementary School
Ottawa Elementary School

Other schools

Buchanan Virtual Academy
Buchanan Step Up

Questions

Buchanan snow day questions

How much snow does Buchanan get?

What was the biggest snow day near Buchanan?

Does Buchanan get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Buchanan 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.