Houston, Minnesota, 2,000 students in 6 schools

Houston Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Houston get?

About 41.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 7.7 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Houston?

11 inches on April 17, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 7.7 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 69.6 inches.

Q: How does the Houston snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Houston 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 Houston’s own big snow morning: 4.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 7.7 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 Houston, measured against Houston's own big snow morning of 4.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Houston close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Houston’s snow record

41.9inches of snow a winter

3.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

4.3 ina big snow morning in Houston: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3.4Nov

8.4Dec

9.5Jan

8.7Feb

6.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11 in on April 17, 2023
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 69.6 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 6.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 7.7 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 Houston

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
La Crescent-Hokah School DistrictLa Crescent	30.7 in	1.3
Winona Area Public School DistrictWinona	36.8 in	1.6
Dover-Eyota Public School DistrictEyota	46 in	1.6
Plainview-Elgin-MillvillePlainview	46 in	1.6
Stewartville Public School DistrictStewartville	48 in	2
Rochester Public School DistrictRochester	51.5 in	2.1

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Minnesota Virtual Academy High
Houston Secondary
Summit Learning Program

Middle

Minnesota Virtual Academy Middle

Elementary

Minnesota Virtual Academy Elementar
Houston Elementary

Questions

Houston snow day questions

How much snow does Houston get?

What was the biggest snow day near Houston?

How does the Houston 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.