Lake City, Minnesota, 1,182 students in 2 schools

Lake City Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Lake City get?

About 40.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Lake City?

17 inches on March 15, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 76.7 inches.

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

Lake City averages 2.2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 68 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Lake City snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Lake City 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 Lake City’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Lake City, measured against Lake City's own big snow morning of 5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Lake City close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Lake City’s snow record

40.9inches of snow a winter

4.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.2with 4 in or more

5 ina big snow morning in Lake City: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 68% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

2.5Nov

8.7Dec

7.9Jan

10.7Feb

6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 17 in on March 15, 2026
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 76.7 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 8.8 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 Lake City

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Red Wing Public School DistrictRed Wing	37.1 in	1.3
Plainview-Elgin-MillvillePlainview	46 in	1.6
Zumbrota-Mazeppa School DistrictZumbrota	46.1 in	1.6
Pine Island Public School DistrictPine Island	41 in	1.1
Cannon Falls Public School DistrictCannon Falls	49.2 in	2
Rochester Public School DistrictRochester	51.5 in	2.1

The schools

2 schools

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

High

Lincoln Secondary

Elementary

Bluff View Elementary

Questions

Lake City snow day questions

How much snow does Lake City get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lake City?

Does Lake City get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

How does the Lake City 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.