Cass Lake, Minnesota, 1,112 students in 4 schools

Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Cass Lake get?

About 56.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Cass Lake-Bena?

10.5 inches on March 12, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 79.6 inches.

Q: Does Cass Lake-Bena get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

Cass Lake-Bena averages 2.7 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 86 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Cass Lake-Bena snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Cass Lake 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 Cass Lake-Bena’s own big snow morning: 4.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Cass Lake-Bena, measured against Cass Lake-Bena's own big snow morning of 4.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Cass Lake-Bena close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Cass Lake-Bena’s snow record

56.4inches of snow a winter

5.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.7with 4 in or more

4.5 ina big snow morning in Cass Lake-Bena: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

32.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 86% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

5.3Nov

15.3Dec

8.3Jan

10.2Feb

8.9Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.5 in on March 12, 2023
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 79.6 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 10.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Cass Lake-Bena

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Bemidji Public School DistrictBemidji	57.1 in	2.3
Park Rapids Public School DistrictPark Rapids	57.5 in	3.9
Red Lake Public School DistrictRed Lake	27.4 in	0.6
Grand Rapids Public School DistrictGrand Rapids	56 in	1.5
Greenway Public School DistrictColeraine	56 in	1.5
Pequot Lakes Public SchoolsPequot Lakes	69.2 in	3.1

The schools

4 schools

Every school in Cass Lake-Bena follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.

Middle

Cass Lake-Bena Middle School

Elementary

Cass Lake-Bena Elementary

Questions

Cass Lake-Bena snow day questions

How much snow does Cass Lake get?

What was the biggest snow day near Cass Lake-Bena?

Does Cass Lake-Bena get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

How does the Cass Lake-Bena 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.