Flint, Michigan, 2,863 students in 6 schools

Kearsley Community Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Flint get?

About 38.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Kearsley?

9.1 inches on November 12, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 50.7 inches.

Q: How does the Kearsley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Flint 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 Kearsley’s own big snow morning: 3.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away.

Q: How far ahead does the Kearsley snow day predictor look?

Three school mornings, as far as the National Weather Service hourly forecast reaches. Weekends and breaks are skipped, so a Friday storm is read for Monday’s buses.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Kearsley, measured against Kearsley's own big snow morning of 3.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Kearsley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Kearsley’s snow record

38.9inches of snow a winter

4.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.2with 4 in or more

3.1 ina big snow morning in Kearsley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

5.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

3.7Nov

7.9Dec

12Jan

10.4Feb

3.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9.1 in on November 12, 2019
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 50.7 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 8.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1 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 Kearsley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Flint City School DistrictFlint	50.5 in	1.1
Mount Morris Consolidated School DistrictMount Morris	38.9 in	1.2
Davison Community SchoolsDavison	38.9 in	1.2
Westwood Heights SchoolsFlint	50.5 in	1.1
Bendle Public SchoolsBurton	50.4 in	2.1
Carman-Ainsworth Community School DistrictFlint	50.5 in	1.1

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Kearsley High School
Kearsley Virtual Academy

Middle

Armstrong Middle School
Leota Fiedler Elementary School

Elementary

Weston Elementary School, Burton
Kate Dowdall Elementary School

Questions

Kearsley snow day questions

How much snow does Flint get?

What was the biggest snow day near Kearsley?

How does the Kearsley snow day predictor work?

How does Michigan handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Kearsley snow day predictor look?

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.