Belleville, Michigan, 4,293 students in 8 schools

Van Buren Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Belleville get?

About 39.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Van Buren?

10.6 inches on December 11, 2016, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 61 inches.

Q: How does the Van Buren snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Belleville 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 Van Buren’s own big snow morning: 3.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.7 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Van Buren 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 Van Buren, measured against Van Buren's own big snow morning of 3.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Van Buren close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Van Buren’s snow record

39.5inches of snow a winter

3.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.4with 4 in or more

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

2.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

3.9Nov

7.5Dec

11.5Jan

11Feb

3.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.6 in on December 11, 2016
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 61 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 6.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 8.7 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 Van Buren

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Romulus Community SchoolsRomulus	39.5 in	1.4
Lincoln Consolidated School DistrictYpsilanti	50.7 in	1.4
Ypsilanti Community SchoolsYpsilanti	50.7 in	1.4
Wayne-Westland Community School DistrictWestland	26.2 in	0.8
Huron School DistrictNew Boston	39.5 in	1.4
Garden City School DistrictGarden City	26.2 in	0.8

The schools

8 schools

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

High

Belleville High School

Middle

McBride Middle School
Owen Intermediate School

Elementary

Edgemont Elementary School
Tyler Road Elementary School
Savage Road Elementary School
Rawsonville Elementary School, Ypsilanti

Other schools

Early Childhood Center of VBPS

Questions

Van Buren snow day questions

How much snow does Belleville get?

What was the biggest snow day near Van Buren?

How does the Van Buren snow day predictor work?

How does Michigan handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Van Buren 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.