Dowagiac, Michigan, 1,860 students in 7 schools

Dowagiac Union Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Dowagiac get?

About 39.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Dowagiac?

7 inches on November 13, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 74.4 inches.

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

Dowagiac averages 1.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 53 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Dowagiac snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Dowagiac 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 Dowagiac’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away.

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

The next three school mornings

Will Dowagiac close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Dowagiac’s snow record

39.5inches of snow a winter

5.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

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

2.4school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 53% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

3.6Nov

8.4Dec

13.8Jan

10Feb

2.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7 in on November 13, 2022
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 74.4 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 10.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.2 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 Dowagiac

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Berrien Springs Public SchoolsBerrien Springs	55.9 in	3
Niles Community School DistrictNiles	55.9 in	3
Edwardsburg Public SchoolsEdwardsburg	26.5 in	0.6
Brandywine Community SchoolsNiles	55.9 in	3
Watervliet School DistrictWatervliet	46.3 in	1.8
Hartford Public School DistrictHartford	46.3 in	1.8

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Union High School
Pathfinders Alternative Ed

Middle

Dowagiac Middle School

Elementary

Justus Gage Elementary School
Kincheloe Elementary School
Patrick Hamilton Elementary
Sister Lakes Elementary School, Benton Harbor

Questions

Dowagiac snow day questions

How much snow does Dowagiac get?

What was the biggest snow day near Dowagiac?

Does Dowagiac get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Dowagiac 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.