Pine Island, Minnesota, 1,538 students in 4 schools

Pine Island Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Pine Island get?

About 41 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 11.4 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Pine Island?

10.8 inches on February 24, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 11.4 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 78.8 inches.

Q: How does the Pine Island snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Pine Island 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 Pine Island’s own big snow morning: 3.7 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 11.4 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 Pine Island, measured against Pine Island's own big snow morning of 3.7 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Pine Island close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Pine Island’s snow record

41inches of snow a winter

4.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.1with 4 in or more

3.7 ina big snow morning in Pine Island: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4Nov

8.2Dec

8.2Jan

10.2Feb

6.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.8 in on February 24, 2019
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 78.8 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 6.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 11.4 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 Pine Island

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Zumbrota-Mazeppa School DistrictZumbrota	46.1 in	1.6
Byron Public School DistrictByron	45.1 in	1.9
Kasson-Mantorville School DistrictKasson	50.3 in	1.6
Rochester Public School DistrictRochester	51.5 in	2.1
Plainview-Elgin-MillvillePlainview	46 in	1.6
Red Wing Public School DistrictRed Wing	37.1 in	1.3

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Pine Island Secondary
Pine Island High School ALP

Middle

Pine Island Middle

Elementary

Pine Island Elementary

Questions

Pine Island snow day questions

How much snow does Pine Island get?

What was the biggest snow day near Pine Island?

How does the Pine Island 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.