Bemidji, Minnesota, 4,812 students in 15 schools

Bemidji Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Bemidji get?

About 57.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5.4 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 Bemidji?

10.8 inches on February 8, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 80.7 inches.

Q: Does Bemidji get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

Bemidji averages 2.3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 73 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Bemidji snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Bemidji 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 Bemidji’s own big snow morning: 4.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Bemidji, measured against Bemidji's own big snow morning of 4.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Bemidji close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Bemidji’s snow record

57.1inches of snow a winter

5.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.3with 4 in or more

4.1 ina big snow morning in Bemidji: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 73% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

4.9Nov

17.1Dec

8.6Jan

9.2Feb

7.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.8 in on February 8, 2019
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 80.7 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 8.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 8.2 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 Bemidji

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Cass Lake-Bena Public SchoolsCass Lake	56.4 in	2.7
Red Lake Public School DistrictRed Lake	27.4 in	0.6
Park Rapids Public School DistrictPark Rapids	57.5 in	3.9
Detroit Lakes Public School DistrictDetroit Lakes	48.2 in	2.3
Grand Rapids Public School DistrictGrand Rapids	56 in	1.5
Pequot Lakes Public SchoolsPequot Lakes	69.2 in	3.1

The schools

15 schools

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

High

Bemidji Senior High
Bemidji Senior Lumberjack Alc
Bemidji Area Learning Center
Lakeside Learning Center
Oshki Manidoo Center

Middle

Bemidji Middle
Bemidji Middle Alp

Elementary

Gene Dillon Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary
Horace May Elementary
Northern Elementary
J.w. Smith Elementary
Solway Elementary, Solway

Other schools

Paul Bunyan Center
First City School

Questions

Bemidji snow day questions

How much snow does Bemidji get?

What was the biggest snow day near Bemidji?

Does Bemidji get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

How does the Bemidji snow day predictor work?

How does Minnesota handle snow days?

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.