Fairmont, Minnesota, 1,818 students in 2 schools

Fairmont Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Fairmont get?

About 43.6 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Fairmont?

12 inches on April 15, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 88.5 inches.

Q: How does the Fairmont snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Fairmont 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 Fairmont’s own big snow morning: 3.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Fairmont, measured against Fairmont's own big snow morning of 3.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Fairmont close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Fairmont’s snow record

43.6inches of snow a winter

4.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.2with 4 in or more

3.5 ina big snow morning in Fairmont: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4.4Nov

7.8Dec

9.9Jan

9.7Feb

6.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on April 15, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 88.5 in
6 in mornings 0.3 a winter
1 in mornings 7 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 Fairmont

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Blue Earth Area Public SchoolsBlue Earth	43.6 in	1.8
St. James Public School DistrictSaint James	45.6 in	1.7
Jackson County Central School DistrictJackson	46.8 in	1.5
Windom Public School DistrictWindom	45 in	1.6
Mankato Public School DistrictMankato	39.8 in	2.1
New Ulm Public School DistrictNew Ulm	37.4 in	1

The schools

2 schools

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

High

Fairmont Jr./Sr. High School

Elementary

Fairmont Elementary School

Questions

Fairmont snow day questions

How much snow does Fairmont get?

What was the biggest snow day near Fairmont?

How does the Fairmont 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.