Gaylord, Michigan, 2,776 students in 5 schools

Gaylord Community Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Gaylord get?

About 122.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 4 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 12 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 4.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Gaylord?

11.8 inches on March 26, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 4 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 155.4 inches.

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

Gaylord averages 4.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 92 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Gaylord snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Gaylord 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 Gaylord’s own big snow morning: 4.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 4 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Gaylord, measured against Gaylord's own big snow morning of 4.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Gaylord close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Gaylord’s snow record

122.3inches of snow a winter

12school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

4.7with 4 in or more

4.2 ina big snow morning in Gaylord: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 92% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

15.8Nov

29.5Dec

30.6Jan

24.6Feb

16Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.8 in on March 26, 2023
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 155.4 in
6 in mornings 1.4 a winter
1 in mornings 20.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 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 Gaylord

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Boyne City Public SchoolsBoyne City	102.1 in	5.6
Crawford AuSable SchoolsGrayling	81.2 in	3.8
Public Schools of PetoskeyPetoskey	120.5 in	5
Kalkaska Public SchoolsKalkaska	129.2 in	5.5
Elk Rapids SchoolsElk Rapids	111.1 in	3.6
Cheboygan Area SchoolsCheboygan	73.7 in	3.3

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Gaylord High SchoolVoc Bldg

Middle

Gaylord Intermediate School
Gaylord Middle School

Elementary

South Maple Elementary School
North Ohio Elementary School

Questions

Gaylord snow day questions

How much snow does Gaylord get?

What was the biggest snow day near Gaylord?

Does Gaylord get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Gaylord 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.