Pontiac, Michigan, 3,659 students in 10 schools

Pontiac City School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Pontiac get?

About 31.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.7 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Pontiac?

7.3 inches on January 18, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.7 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 49.4 inches.

Q: How does the Pontiac snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Pontiac 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 Pontiac’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.7 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Pontiac 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 Pontiac, measured against Pontiac's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Pontiac close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Pontiac’s snow record

31.3inches of snow a winter

3.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.9with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Pontiac: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

2.9Nov

4.9Dec

11.6Jan

8.6Feb

2.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.3 in on January 18, 2020
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 49.4 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 8.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.7 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 Pontiac

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Avondale School DistrictAuburn Hills	31.3 in	0.9
Waterford School DistrictWaterford	32.8 in	1.1
West Bloomfield School DistrictWest Bloomfield	32.8 in	1.1
Bloomfield Hills School DistrictBloomfield Hills	29.8 in	1
Troy School DistrictTroy	31.3 in	0.9
Birmingham City School DistrictBeverly Hills	29.8 in	1

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Pontiac High School
Pontiac Academy for Student Success
Bethune Adult Education

Middle

Pontiac Middle School

Elementary

Whitman Elementary School
Herrington School
Owen Elementary School
Rogers School, Auburn Hills
Alcott School

Other schools

Kennedy Center

Questions

Pontiac snow day questions

How much snow does Pontiac get?

What was the biggest snow day near Pontiac?

How does the Pontiac snow day predictor work?

How does Michigan handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Pontiac 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.