Albert Lea, Minnesota, 3,338 students in 8 schools

Albert Lea Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Albert Lea get?

About 42.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Albert Lea?

11.5 inches on February 24, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 73.2 inches.

Q: How does the Albert Lea snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Albert Lea 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 Albert Lea’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away.

Q: Can Minnesota schools hold a remote day instead?

A district or charter school with an adopted plan may hold up to five e-learning days a year for bad weather, and each one counts as a day of instruction.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Albert Lea, measured against Albert Lea's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Albert Lea close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Albert Lea’s snow record

42.1inches of snow a winter

3.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Albert Lea: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4.3Nov

8.6Dec

10.3Jan

10.6Feb

6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.5 in on February 24, 2019
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 73.2 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 8.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.9 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 Minnesota rule

How Minnesota counts a lost day

Minnesota requires at least 165 days for grades 1 to 11, plus 935 hours for grades 1 to 6 and 1,020 hours for grades 7 to 12.

The Minnesota rules in the agency’s own words, and every Minnesota district

Next door

Districts near Albert Lea

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Austin Public School DistrictAustin	35.4 in	1.3
Waseca Public School DistrictWaseca	45.8 in	2.2
Owatonna Public School DistrictOwatonna	44.2 in	2.3
Blue Earth Area Public SchoolsBlue Earth	43.6 in	1.8
Kasson-Mantorville School DistrictKasson	50.3 in	1.6
Faribault Public School DistrictFaribault	39.8 in	1.7

The schools

8 schools

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

High

Albert Lea Senior High
Albert Lea Area Learning Center

Middle

Southwest Middle

Elementary

Lakeview Elementary
Hawthorne Elementary
Halverson Elementary
Sibley Elementary

Other schools

Brookside Early Childhood Sp Ed

Questions

Albert Lea snow day questions

How much snow does Albert Lea get?

What was the biggest snow day near Albert Lea?

How does the Albert Lea snow day predictor work?

How does Minnesota handle snow days?

Can Minnesota schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

More for Minnesota 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.Minnesota winter forecastThe season ahead for Minnesota: 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.