Belle Plaine, Minnesota, 1,541 students in 7 schools

Belle Plaine Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Belle Plaine get?

About 43.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 7 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4 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 Belle Plaine?

12.8 inches on January 23, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 7 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 77.9 inches.

Q: How does the Belle Plaine snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Belle Plaine 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 Belle Plaine’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 7 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 Belle Plaine, measured against Belle Plaine's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Belle Plaine close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Belle Plaine’s snow record

43.3inches of snow a winter

4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.4with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Belle Plaine: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

19.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

4.2Nov

9.4Dec

7.9Jan

9.7Feb

6.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.8 in on January 23, 2018
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 77.9 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 6.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 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 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 Belle Plaine

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Jordan Public School DistrictJordan	43.3 in	1.4
New Prague Area SchoolsNew Prague	54.3 in	2.3
Waconia Public School DistrictWaconia	58.7 in	2.3
Sibley East School DistrictArlington	38.3 in	2.7
Shakopee Public School DistrictShakopee	55.5 in	2.5
Tri-City United School DistrictMontgomery	44.4 in	1.9

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Belle Plaine Senior High
Belle Plaine Transitions/Work Exper

Middle

Belle Plaine Junior High

Elementary

Oak Crest Elementary
Chatfield Elementary

Other schools

Belle Plaine ECSE
Early Childhood Program

Questions

Belle Plaine snow day questions

How much snow does Belle Plaine get?

What was the biggest snow day near Belle Plaine?

How does the Belle Plaine 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.