Manistee, Michigan, 1,222 students in 3 schools

Manistee Area Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Manistee get?

About 118.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 18.6 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 14.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Manistee?

14.8 inches on January 29, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 18.6 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 149.6 inches.

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

Manistee averages 5 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 93 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Manistee snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Manistee 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 Manistee’s own big snow morning: 4.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 18.6 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Manistee, measured against Manistee's own big snow morning of 4.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Manistee close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Manistee’s snow record

118.4inches of snow a winter

14.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

5with 4 in or more

4.6 ina big snow morning in Manistee: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 93% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

10.2Nov

32.5Dec

35.3Jan

23.5Feb

12.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14.8 in on January 29, 2019
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 149.6 in
6 in mornings 1.9 a winter
1 in mornings 22.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 18.6 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 Manistee

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Mason County Central SchoolsScottville	73 in	2.2
Ludington Area School DistrictLudington	73 in	2.2
Benzie County Central SchoolBenzonia	99.4 in	3.4
Hart Public School DistrictHart	77.7 in	3
Shelby Public SchoolsShelby	77.7 in	3
Kingsley Area SchoolsKingsley	84.3 in	2.2

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Manistee Middle High School

Elementary

Thomas Jefferson Elem School
John F Kennedy Elem School

Questions

Manistee snow day questions

How much snow does Manistee get?

What was the biggest snow day near Manistee?

Does Manistee get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Manistee 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.