Fergus Falls, Minnesota, 2,901 students in 10 schools

Fergus Falls Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Fergus Falls get?

About 59.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 21.8 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Fergus Falls?

11.8 inches on March 10, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 21.8 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 87.6 inches.

Q: How does the Fergus Falls snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls’s own big snow morning: 3.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 21.8 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 Fergus Falls, measured against Fergus Falls's own big snow morning of 3.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Fergus Falls close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Fergus Falls’s snow record

59.2inches of snow a winter

6.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.9with 4 in or more

3.8 ina big snow morning in Fergus Falls: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

30.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

3.7Nov

17.7Dec

8.3Jan

11.7Feb

10.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11.8 in on March 10, 2019
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 87.6 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 11.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 21.8 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 Fergus Falls

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Perham-Dent Public School DistrictPerham	65.6 in	2.3
Detroit Lakes Public School DistrictDetroit Lakes	48.2 in	2.3
Hawley Public School DistrictHawley	67.2 in	2.6
Alexandria Public School DistrictAlexandria	32.3 in	0.8
Wadena-Deer Creek School DistrictWadena	58 in	2.9
Morris Area Public SchoolsMorris	37.7 in	0.8

The schools

10 schools

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

High

Kennedy High School
iQ Academy 9-12
Fergus Falls Area Learning Center

Middle

Kennedy Middle School
iQ Academy 6-8

Elementary

Cleveland Elementary
Adams Elementary
McKinley Elementary
iQ Academy K-5

Other schools

Shared Time School

Questions

Fergus Falls snow day questions

How much snow does Fergus Falls get?

What was the biggest snow day near Fergus Falls?

How does the Fergus Falls 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.