Long Lake, Minnesota, 2,946 students in 6 schools

Orono Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Long Lake get?

About 42.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Orono?

7.5 inches on March 25, 2024, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 66.4 inches.

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

Orono averages 2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 54 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Orono snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Long Lake 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 Orono’s own big snow morning: 4 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.2 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Orono, measured against Orono's own big snow morning of 4 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Orono close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Orono’s snow record

42.1inches of snow a winter

5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2with 4 in or more

4 ina big snow morning in Orono: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 54% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

4Nov

9.9Dec

5.5Jan

10Feb

8.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.5 in on March 25, 2024
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 66.4 in
6 in mornings 0.9 a winter
1 in mornings 7.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.2 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 Orono

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Westonka Public School DistrictMinnetrista	47.4 in	2.1
Wayzata Public School DistrictPlymouth	56 in	2
Minnetonka Public School DistrictMinnetonka	55.5 in	2.5
Delano Public School DistrictDelano	30.9 in	2.5
Rockford Public School DistrictRockford	30.9 in	2.5
Hopkins Public School DistrictHopkins	41.9 in	2.1

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Orono Senior High
Orono Online Learning

Middle

Orono Middle

Elementary

Orono Intermediate Elementary
Schumann Elementary

Other schools

Orono Discovery Center, Maple Plain

Questions

Orono snow day questions

How much snow does Long Lake get?

What was the biggest snow day near Orono?

Does Orono get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

How does the Orono 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.