Rochester Community School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How does Rochester announce a snow day?

By email, text message and phone call, and on the district’s own closings page.

Q: When is the last day of school for Rochester?

June 9, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Rochester Hls get?

About 31.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.6 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 Rochester?

7.3 inches on January 18, 2020, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.6 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 49.4 inches.

Q: How does the Rochester snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Rochester Hls 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 Rochester’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.6 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will Rochester close tomorrow?

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

The Rochester playbook

How Rochester calls a snow day

How families hear

By email, text message and phone call.

“Alerts and Notifications: Important information the school wants to notify you about quickly will be sent through the Alerts and Notifications portion of the platform. These may come through as emails, text messages, and/or voicemails.”

ParentSquare - Rochester Community School District

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 24, 2026
Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 1
February break Feb 15 to Feb 16
Last day June 9, 2027

District calendar

Read from Rochester’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is rochester.k12.mi.us.

Ten winters of school mornings

Rochester’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 Rochester: 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 8.6 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 Rochester

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Troy School DistrictTroy	31.3 in	0.9
Avondale School DistrictAuburn Hills	31.3 in	0.9
Utica Community SchoolsSterling Heights	28 in	0.7
Chippewa Valley SchoolsClinton Township	28 in	0.7
Romeo Community SchoolsRomeo	40.6 in	1.6
Clawson City School DistrictClawson	31.3 in	0.9

The schools

22 schools

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

High

Rochester High School, Rochester Hills
Rochester Adams High School, Rochester Hills
Stoney Creek High School, Rochester Hills
Hart Middle School, Rochester Hills
Van Hoosen Middle School, Rochester Hills
West Middle School, Rochester Hills
Reuther Middle School, Rochester Hills
John M Schultz Educational Campus, Rochester Hills

Elementary

Delta Kelly Elementary School, Oakland
Long Meadow Elementary School, Rochester Hills
Hampton Elementary School, Rochester Hills
Baldwin Elementary School, Rochester
Hugger Elementary School, Rochester
North Hill Elementary School, Rochester Hills
Musson Elementary School, Rochester Hills
Brooklands Elementary School, Rochester Hills
Hamlin Elementary School, Rochester Hills
McGregor Elementary School, Rochester
University Hills Elem School, Rochester Hills
Meadow Brook Elementary School, Rochester Hills
Brewster Elementary School, Rochester Hills

Other schools

Rochester Community Schools Virtual Campus

Questions

Rochester snow day questions

How does Rochester announce a snow day?

When is the last day of school for Rochester?

How much snow does Rochester Hls get?

What was the biggest snow day near Rochester?

How does the Rochester 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.