Hawley, Minnesota, 1,062 students in 3 schools

Hawley Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Hawley get?

About 67.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Hawley?

15.6 inches on March 10, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 95.7 inches.

Q: Does Hawley get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

Hawley averages 2.6 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 83 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Hawley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Hawley 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 Hawley’s own big snow morning: 3.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.1 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Hawley, measured against Hawley's own big snow morning of 3.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Hawley close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Hawley’s snow record

67.2inches of snow a winter

6.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.6with 4 in or more

3.9 ina big snow morning in Hawley: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 83% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

6.1Nov

21Dec

7.3Jan

10.6Feb

10.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 15.6 in on March 10, 2019
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 95.7 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 10.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.1 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 Hawley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Dilworth-Glyndon-FeltonDilworth	48.5 in	2
Moorhead Public School DistrictMoorhead	43.7 in	1.1
Detroit Lakes Public School DistrictDetroit Lakes	48.2 in	2.3
Perham-Dent Public School DistrictPerham	65.6 in	2.3
Fergus Falls Public School DistrictFergus Falls	59.2 in	1.9
Park Rapids Public School DistrictPark Rapids	57.5 in	3.9

The schools

3 schools

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

High

Hawley Secondary

Elementary

Hawley Elementary
Spring Prairie Elementary

Questions

Hawley snow day questions

How much snow does Hawley get?

What was the biggest snow day near Hawley?

Does Hawley get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

How does the Hawley snow day predictor work?

How does Minnesota handle snow days?

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.