Sand Lake, Michigan, 1,685 students in 3 schools

Tri County Area Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Sand Lake get?

About 46.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 15.2 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Tri?

7.5 inches on December 11, 2016, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 15.2 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 66.1 inches.

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

Tri averages 1.8 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 58 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Tri snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Sand Lake 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 Tri’s own big snow morning: 3.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 15.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Tri, measured against Tri's own big snow morning of 3.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Tri close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Tri’s snow record

46.8inches of snow a winter

4.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.8with 4 in or more

3.1 ina big snow morning in Tri: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

6.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 58% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

4.6Nov

12.1Dec

11.3Jan

12.2Feb

4.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.5 in on December 11, 2016
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 66.1 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 8.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 15.2 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 Tri

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Cedar Springs Public SchoolsCedar Springs	46.8 in	1.8
Rockford Public SchoolsRockford	73.6 in	2.6
Kent City Community SchoolsKent City	73.6 in	2.6
Sparta Area SchoolsSparta	73.6 in	2.6
Greenville Public SchoolsGreenville	46.8 in	1.8
Grant Public School DistrictGrant	57.3 in	1.3

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Tri County Senior High School, Howard City

Middle

Tri County Middle School, Howard City

Elementary

Tri County Elementary School, Pierson

Questions

Tri snow day questions

How much snow does Sand Lake get?

What was the biggest snow day near Tri?

Does Tri get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Tri 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.