Faribault, Minnesota, 3,107 students in 12 schools

Faribault Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Faribault get?

About 39.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.8 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Faribault?

13 inches on January 23, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.8 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 72.1 inches.

Q: How does the Faribault snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Faribault 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 Faribault’s own big snow morning: 4.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.8 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 Faribault, measured against Faribault's own big snow morning of 4.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Faribault close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Faribault’s snow record

39.8inches of snow a winter

4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.7with 4 in or more

4.8 ina big snow morning in Faribault: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3.5Nov

8.8Dec

8.6Jan

10.5Feb

4.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 13 in on January 23, 2018
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 72.1 in
6 in mornings 0.9 a winter
1 in mornings 7.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.8 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 Faribault

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Owatonna Public School DistrictOwatonna	44.2 in	2.3
Northfield Public School DistrictNorthfield	39.8 in	1.7
Waseca Public School DistrictWaseca	45.8 in	2.2
Tri-City United School DistrictMontgomery	44.4 in	1.9
New Prague Area SchoolsNew Prague	54.3 in	2.3
Cannon Falls Public School DistrictCannon Falls	49.2 in	2

The schools

12 schools

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

High

Faribault Senior High
Faribault Area Learning Center
Falcons Online Academy-HS
Secondary Area Learning Cntr Summer

Middle

Faribault Middle
Falcons Online Academy-Middle
Faribault Day School Alc

Elementary

Lincoln Elementary
Roosevelt Elementary
Jefferson Elementary

Other schools

Early Childhood Special Education
McKinley PreK

Questions

Faribault snow day questions

How much snow does Faribault get?

What was the biggest snow day near Faribault?

How does the Faribault 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.