Wayland, Michigan, 2,765 students in 7 schools

Wayland Union Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Wayland get?

About 68.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 15.8 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Wayland?

10.5 inches on December 24, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 15.8 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 110.7 inches.

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

Wayland averages 2.3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 73 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Wayland snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Wayland 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 Wayland’s own big snow morning: 3.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 15.8 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Wayland, measured against Wayland's own big snow morning of 3.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Wayland close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Wayland’s snow record

68.6inches of snow a winter

7.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.3with 4 in or more

3.6 ina big snow morning in Wayland: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

1.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 73% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

8.4Nov

17.8Dec

21Jan

13.9Feb

5.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.5 in on December 24, 2022
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 110.7 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 14 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 15.8 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 Wayland

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Thornapple Kellogg School DistrictMiddleville	57.3 in	1.7
Hopkins Public SchoolsHopkins	68.4 in	2.4
Byron Center Public SchoolsByron Center	58.9 in	2.1
Caledonia Community SchoolsCaledonia	68.6 in	2.3
Kentwood Public SchoolsGrand Rapids	68.6 in	2.3
Kelloggsville Public SchoolsGrand Rapids	73.6 in	2.6

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Wayland High School
Career Connections Academy

Middle

Wayland Union Middle School

Elementary

Pine Street Elementary
Dorr School, Dorr
Bessie B Baker School
RJ Steeby School

Questions

Wayland snow day questions

How much snow does Wayland get?

What was the biggest snow day near Wayland?

Does Wayland get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the Wayland 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.