Oscoda, Michigan, 1,207 students in 2 schools

Oscoda Area Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Oscoda get?

About 40.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Oscoda?

11 inches on January 29, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 55.8 inches.

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

Oscoda averages 1.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 56 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Oscoda snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Oscoda 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 Oscoda’s own big snow morning: 3.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.4 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Oscoda, measured against Oscoda's own big snow morning of 3.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Oscoda close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Oscoda’s snow record

40.4inches of snow a winter

4.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.7with 4 in or more

3.7 ina big snow morning in Oscoda: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 56% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

1.7Nov

7.6Dec

11Jan

13.4Feb

4.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11 in on January 29, 2019
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 55.8 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 7.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.4 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 Oscoda

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Tawas Area SchoolsTawas City	39.9 in	2.7
West Branch-Rose City Area SchoolsWest Branch	50.6 in	1.7
Standish-Sterling Community School DistrictStandish	42.9 in	1.6
Alpena Public SchoolsAlpena	47.3 in	0.8
Pinconning Area SchoolsPinconning	42.9 in	1.6
Essexville-Hampton Public SchoolsEssexville	34.6 in	1.4

The schools

2 schools

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

High

Oscoda Area High School

Elementary

Richardson Elementary School

Questions

Oscoda snow day questions

How much snow does Oscoda get?

What was the biggest snow day near Oscoda?

Does Oscoda get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Oscoda 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.