Skip to content
Buffalo, Minnesota, 5,282 students in 11 schools

Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose, measured against Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose's own big snow morning of 5.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Buffalo.
The Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose playbook

How Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose calls a snow day

When the call comes

At least two hours before the start of the school day; rarely made in advance.

“the district's objective is to provide at least two hours notice prior to the start or end of the school day.”
Source

How families hear

By phone call, text message, email, the district website, social media, local TV and radio.

“Families who have signed up for notifications receive an automated phone call, text message and email from BHM Schools. Alerts are also posted on the district website and social media, and shared with local TV stations and KRWC Radio.”
Inclement Weather | Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“Delay the start of the school day by two hours”
Delay schedule

A snow day is a day off

Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose closes rather than going remote.

“BHM Schools values in-person education, and does not facilitate e-learning days for weather or other emergency closures.”
Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

  • First day August 31, 2026
  • Winter break Dec 24 to Jan 1
  • Last day June 3, 2027
District calendar

Read from Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is bhmschools.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose’s snow record

30.9inches of snow a winter
4.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more
2.5with 4 in or more
5.2 ina big snow morning in Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose: the top tenth of snowy school mornings
19.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 80% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

2.6Nov
6.8Dec
4.3Jan
8.7Feb
5.6Mar
Average snowfall by month, inches
  • Biggest day 10 in on January 4, 2023
  • Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 66.5 in
  • 6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
  • 1 in mornings 6.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10 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.

Advertisement
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 Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose

DistrictSnow a winter4 in morningsBuilt in days
Rockford Public School DistrictRockford30.9 in2.5
Monticello Public School DistrictMonticello49 in2
Delano Public School DistrictDelano30.9 in2.5
St. Michael-Albertville School DistrictAlbertville43.3 in2.83
Big Lake Public School DistrictBig Lake49 in2
Annandale Public School DistrictAnnandale49 in2.1
The schools

11 schools

Every school in Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

  • Buffalo Senior High
  • Phoenix Learning Center
  • Pride Transitions

Middle

  • Buffalo Community Middle

Elementary

  • Tatanka Elementary STEM School
  • Northwinds Elementary
  • Hanover Elementary, Hanover
  • Montrose Elementary School of Innov, Montrose
  • Parkside Elementary
  • Discovery Elementary

Other schools

  • Buffalo Early Child. Sp. Ed Program
Questions

Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose snow day questions

Advertisement
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.