Kalkaska, Michigan, 1,372 students in 4 schools

Kalkaska Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Kalkaska get?

About 129.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 15.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 5.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Kalkaska?

20.4 inches on December 2, 2024, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2024 to 2025, with 168.2 inches.

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

Kalkaska averages 5.5 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 94 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Kalkaska snow day predictor work?

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

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

The next three school mornings

Will Kalkaska close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Kalkaska’s snow record

129.2inches of snow a winter

15.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

5.5with 4 in or more

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

7.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 94% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

17.1Nov

34.7Dec

32.1Jan

22.6Feb

15.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 20.4 in on December 2, 2024
Snowiest winter 2024 to 2025, 168.2 in
6 in mornings 2.3 a winter
1 in mornings 25.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Kalkaska

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Elk Rapids SchoolsElk Rapids	111.1 in	3.6
Kingsley Area SchoolsKingsley	84.3 in	2.2
Traverse City Area Public SchoolsTraverse City	111.1 in	3.6	5
Crawford AuSable SchoolsGrayling	81.2 in	3.8
Lake City Area School DistrictLake City	61.3 in	1.4
Gaylord Community SchoolsGaylord	122.3 in	4.7

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Kalkaska High School

Middle

Kalkaska Middle School

Elementary

Kalkaska Elementary School
Rapid City Elementary School, Rapid City

Questions

Kalkaska snow day questions

How much snow does Kalkaska get?

What was the biggest snow day near Kalkaska?

Does Kalkaska get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Kalkaska 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.