West Ottawa Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: When is the last day of school for West Ottawa?

June 11, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Holland get?

About 78.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 9.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near West Ottawa?

11.5 inches on November 30, 2025, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 100.6 inches.

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

West Ottawa averages 3.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 84 percent of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

Q: How does the West Ottawa snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Holland 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 West Ottawa’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will West Ottawa close tomorrow?

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

The West Ottawa playbook

How West Ottawa calls a snow day

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 27, 2026
Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 1
February break Feb 12 to Feb 16
Last day June 11, 2027

District calendar

Recent snow days

2025 to 2026. Closed for inclement weather on Tuesday, Jan 27, 2026.
“Due to inclement weather, West Ottawa Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, January 27th.”
District notice
2024 to 2025. Closed Tuesday, Jan 21, 2025 for extreme cold, road conditions and forecast snow and wind.
“Due to extreme cold, poor road conditions, poor visibility, and additional forecasted snow and wind, school is closed for Tuesday, Jan. 21.”
District notice

Read from West Ottawa’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is westottawa.net.

Ten winters of school mornings

West Ottawa’s snow record

78.5inches of snow a winter

9.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.1with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in West Ottawa: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 84% of the 515 Michigan districts with a station record.

8.9Nov

18.3Dec

28.9Jan

15.3Feb

4.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.5 in on November 30, 2025
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 100.6 in
6 in mornings 1.3 a winter
1 in mornings 15.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.7 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 West Ottawa

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Holland City School DistrictHolland	78.5 in	3.1
Zeeland Public SchoolsZeeland	78.5 in	3.1
Hamilton Community SchoolsHamilton	78.5 in	3.1
Allendale Public School DistrictAllendale	78.5 in	3.1
Hudsonville Public School DistrictHudsonville	58.9 in	2.1	1
Grand Haven Area Public SchoolsGrand Haven	46.5 in	1.4

The schools

13 schools

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

High

West Ottawa High School Campus
Dunes Alternative High School

Middle

Harbor Lights Middle School
Macatawa Bay Middle School

Elementary

Woodside Elementary School
Lakeshore Elementary School
Waukazoo Elementary School
Great Lakes Elementary School
Pine Creek Elementary School
Lakewood Elementary School
North Holland Elementary School
Sheldon Woods Elementary School, West Olive

Other schools

West Ottawa Virtual Academy

Questions

West Ottawa snow day questions

When is the last day of school for West Ottawa?

How much snow does Holland get?

What was the biggest snow day near West Ottawa?

Does West Ottawa get more snow days than other Michigan districts?

How does the West Ottawa 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.