Ishpeming, Michigan, 1,157 students in 2 schools

N.I.C.E. Community Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Ishpeming get?

About 150.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 14.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 6.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near N.I.C.E.?

23 inches on January 13, 2024, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 253 inches.

Q: Does N.I.C.E. get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

N.I.C.E. averages 6.2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 96 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the N.I.C.E. snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Ishpeming 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 N.I.C.E.’s own big snow morning: 6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in N.I.C.E., measured against N.I.C.E.'s own big snow morning of 6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will N.I.C.E. close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

N.I.C.E.’s snow record

150.8inches of snow a winter

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

6.2with 4 in or more

6 ina big snow morning in N.I.C.E.: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

20.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 96% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

13.4Nov

29.2Dec

31.6Jan

30.9Feb

24.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 23 in on January 13, 2024
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 253 in
6 in mornings 4.2 a winter
1 in mornings 24.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.8 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 N.I.C.E.

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Negaunee Public SchoolsNegaunee	193.2 in	7.6
Marquette Area Public SchoolsMarquette	84.3 in	3
Breitung Township SchoolsKingsford	61.7 in	2.6
Gladstone Area SchoolsGladstone	59.9 in	3.2
Houghton-Portage Township SchoolsHoughton	189.4 in	10.2
Escanaba Area Public SchoolsEscanaba	51.6 in	2.9

The schools

2 schools

Every school in N.I.C.E. follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Westwood High School

Elementary

Aspen Ridge Elementary School

Questions

N.I.C.E. snow day questions

How much snow does Ishpeming get?

What was the biggest snow day near N.I.C.E.?

Does N.I.C.E. get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the N.I.C.E. 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.