Cokato, Minnesota, 2,015 students in 7 schools

Dassel-Cokato Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Cokato get?

About 45.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5.3 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 Dassel-Cokato?

9.8 inches on April 15, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 77.7 inches.

Q: How does the Dassel-Cokato snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Cokato 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 Dassel-Cokato’s own big snow morning: 3.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.6 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 Dassel-Cokato, measured against Dassel-Cokato's own big snow morning of 3.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Dassel-Cokato close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Dassel-Cokato’s snow record

45.6inches of snow a winter

5.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

3.7 ina big snow morning in Dassel-Cokato: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

23.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

4.2Nov

9.2Dec

7.3Jan

12.3Feb

5.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9.8 in on April 15, 2018
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 77.7 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 7.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.6 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 Dassel-Cokato

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Howard Lake-Waverly-WinstedHoward Lake	34.4 in	1.5
Annandale Public School DistrictAnnandale	49 in	2.1
Litchfield Public School DistrictLitchfield	40.1 in	2.6
Hutchinson Public School DistrictHutchinson	43.4 in	2
Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Public SchoolsBuffalo	30.9 in	2.5
Watertown-Mayer Public School DistrictWatertown	47.8 in	2.4

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Dassel-Cokato Senior High
Dassel-Cokato Alternative Ctr.

Middle

Dassel-Cokato Middle
Dassel-Cokato Virtual School Middle

Elementary

Cokato Elementary
Dassel Elementary, Dassel
Dassel-Cokato Virtual School EL

Questions

Dassel-Cokato snow day questions

How much snow does Cokato get?

What was the biggest snow day near Dassel-Cokato?

How does the Dassel-Cokato 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.