Two Harbors, Minnesota, 1,300 students in 4 schools

Lake Superior Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Two Harbors get?

About 56.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.7 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.3 with 4 inches or more.

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

13 inches on December 1, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.7 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 93 inches.

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

Lake Superior averages 2.3 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 73 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

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

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Two Harbors 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 Superior’s own big snow morning: 4.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.7 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Lake Superior, measured against Lake Superior's own big snow morning of 4.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Lake Superior close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Lake Superior’s snow record

56.3inches of snow a winter

6.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.3with 4 in or more

4.1 ina big snow morning in Lake Superior: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

18.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 73% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

4.8Nov

14Dec

12Jan

12.4Feb

8.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 13 in on December 1, 2019
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 93 in
6 in mornings 1.3 a winter
1 in mornings 10.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.7 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 Lake Superior

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Duluth Public School DistrictDuluth	59.2 in	2.9
Hermantown Public School DistrictHermantown	86 in	2.9
Proctor Public School DistrictProctor	80.6 in	3.9
Esko Public School DistrictEsko	80.6 in	3.9
Cloquet Public School DistrictCloquet	58.1 in	1.8
Rock Ridge Public SchoolsVirginia	56.1 in	2.8

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Two Harbors Secondary
Wm. M. Kelley Secondary, Silver Bay

Elementary

Minnehaha Elementary
William Kelley Elementary, Silver Bay

Questions

Lake Superior snow day questions

How much snow does Two Harbors get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lake Superior?

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

How does the Lake Superior 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.