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Elk River, Minnesota, 14,352 students in 31 schools

Elk River School District Snow Day Predictor

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Elk River, measured against Elk River's own big snow morning of 5.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Elk River close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Elk River.
The Elk River playbook

How Elk River calls a snow day

When the call comes

Normally by 5:30 a.m.

“Normally no later than 5 a.m., a recommendation is forwarded to the superintendent.”
Source

How families hear

By phone call, social media, local TV and the district website.

“If a decision is made to close schools, normally by 5:30 a.m. the news media are called, the ParentLink and Campus Messenger systems are activated and all websites, and social media outlets are updated.”
School Emergencies & Closings - Elk River Area ISD 728

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“All K-12 schools will open two hours later than regular start times.”
Delay schedule

eLearning days

Elk River has eLearning days in its winter plan, up to 5 a year.

“Emergency Makeup E-Learning Days (Maximum of 5 days)”
Source

Making up a lost day

Lost days are made up as e-learning days, up to 5.

“Emergency Makeup E-Learning Days (Maximum of 5 days)”
Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

  • First day September 1, 2026
  • Winter break Dec 23 to Jan 1
  • Last day June 3, 2027
District calendar

Read from Elk River’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is isd728.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

Elk River’s snow record

43.3inches of snow a winter
6.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more
2.8with 4 in or more
5.1 ina big snow morning in Elk River: the top tenth of snowy school mornings
21.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 90% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

3.2Nov
9.2Dec
7.2Jan
10.2Feb
7.9Mar
Average snowfall by month, inches
  • Biggest day 11 in on April 16, 2018
  • Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 79 in
  • 6 in mornings 1 a winter
  • 1 in mornings 9.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.5 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.

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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 Elk River

DistrictSnow a winter4 in morningsBuilt in days
St. Michael-Albertville School DistrictAlbertville43.3 in2.83
Big Lake Public School DistrictBig Lake49 in2
St. Francis Area SchoolsSaint Francis49.9 in2.1
Monticello Public School DistrictMonticello49 in2
Anoka-Hennepin Public School DistrictAnoka43.9 in1.6
Osseo Public School DistrictMaple Grove43.9 in1.6
The schools

31 schools

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

High

  • Rogers Senior High, Rogers
  • Elk River Senior High
  • Zimmerman High School, Zimmerman
  • Ivan Sand Community High School
  • Online728 High School
  • C.o.m.p.a.s.s.
  • Fairview Program
  • Ivan Sand After School Credit Recov
  • Ivan Sand Community School Summer
  • Ivan Sand Community School- IS

Middle

  • Rogers Middle School, Rogers
  • Prairie View Middle School, Otsego
  • Salk Middle School
  • Vandenberge Middle School
  • Zimmerman Middle, Zimmerman
  • Online728 Middle School
  • Ivan Sand Middle School ALC

Elementary

  • Prairie View Elementary School, Otsego
  • Twin Lakes Elementary
  • Hassan Elementary, Rogers
  • Rogers Elementary, Rogers
  • Otsego Elementary, Otsego
  • Lincoln Elementary
  • Meadowvale Elementary
  • Westwood Elementary, Zimmerman
  • Zimmerman Elementary, Zimmerman
  • Parker Elementary
  • Online728 Elementary School
  • Elk River District Shared Time Prog

Other schools

  • Handke Center- EC Special Education
  • ISD 728 Focus/Journey
Questions

Elk River snow day questions

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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.