Battle Creek, Michigan, 2,863 students in 5 schools

Harper Creek Community Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Battle Creek get?

About 67 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 9.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 8.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Harper Creek?

12.6 inches on November 18, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 9.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 85.1 inches.

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

Harper Creek averages 2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 65 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Harper Creek snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Battle Creek 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 Harper Creek’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 9.4 miles away.

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

The next three school mornings

Will Harper Creek close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Harper Creek’s snow record

67inches of snow a winter

8.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2with 4 in or more

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

3.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 65% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

10.4Nov

15.7Dec

19Jan

14.5Feb

5.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.6 in on November 18, 2022
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 85.1 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 12.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 9.4 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 Harper Creek

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Lakeview School DistrictBattle Creek	67 in	2
Battle Creek Public SchoolsBattle Creek	67 in	2
Pennfield School DistrictBattle Creek	67 in	2
Marshall Public SchoolsMarshall	67 in	2
Gull Lake Community SchoolsRichland	67 in	2
Olivet Community SchoolsOlivet	33.8 in	0.4

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Harper Creek High School

Middle

Harper Creek Middle School

Elementary

Sonoma Elementary
Wattles Park Elementary School
Beadle Lake Elementary School

Questions

Harper Creek snow day questions

How much snow does Battle Creek get?

What was the biggest snow day near Harper Creek?

Does Harper Creek get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Harper Creek 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.