Portland, Michigan, 2,010 students in 4 schools

Portland Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Portland get?

About 59.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 14 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Portland?

8.7 inches on November 18, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 14 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 80.2 inches.

Q: How does the Portland snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Portland 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 Portland’s own big snow morning: 3.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 14 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Portland 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 Portland, measured against Portland's own big snow morning of 3.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Portland close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Portland’s snow record

59.3inches of snow a winter

6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

3.2 ina big snow morning in Portland: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

6.5Nov

13.3Dec

18.1Jan

13.9Feb

5.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8.7 in on November 18, 2022
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 80.2 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 11.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 14 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 Portland

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Ionia Public SchoolsIonia	59.3 in	1.3
Grand Ledge Public SchoolsGrand Ledge	44 in	1.7
Lakewood Public SchoolsWoodland	57.3 in	1.7
DeWitt Public SchoolsDewitt	44 in	1.7
Waverly Community SchoolsLansing	44 in	1.7
St. Johns Public SchoolsSaint Johns	46.8 in	1.4

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Portland High School

Middle

Portland Middle School

Elementary

Oakwood Elementary School
Westwood Elementary School

Questions

Portland snow day questions

How much snow does Portland get?

What was the biggest snow day near Portland?

How does the Portland snow day predictor work?

How does Michigan handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Portland 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.