Virginia, Minnesota, 2,331 students in 4 schools

Rock Ridge Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Virginia get?

About 56.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 7.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Rock Ridge?

14 inches on December 15, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2021 to 2022, with 83 inches.

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

Rock Ridge averages 2.8 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 90 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Rock Ridge snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Virginia 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 Rock Ridge’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.6 miles away.

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

The next three school mornings

Will Rock Ridge close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Rock Ridge’s snow record

56.1inches of snow a winter

7.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.8with 4 in or more

5 ina big snow morning in Rock Ridge: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

31.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 90% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

5.8Nov

14Dec

11.4Jan

9.9Feb

7.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14 in on December 15, 2022
Snowiest winter 2021 to 2022, 83 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 13.7 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.6 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 Rock Ridge

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
St. Louis County School DistrictVirginia	56.1 in	2.8
Hibbing Public School DistrictHibbing	77.3 in	2.7
Greenway Public School DistrictColeraine	56 in	1.5
Hermantown Public School DistrictHermantown	86 in	2.9
Lake Superior Public School DistrictTwo Harbors	56.3 in	2.3
Grand Rapids Public School DistrictGrand Rapids	56 in	1.5

The schools

4 schools

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

High

Rock Ridge Secondary

Elementary

Laurentian Elementary, Eveleth
Parkview Elementary
North Star Elementary, Eveleth

Questions

Rock Ridge snow day questions

How much snow does Virginia get?

What was the biggest snow day near Rock Ridge?

Does Rock Ridge get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

How does the Rock Ridge 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.