Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, 4,352 students in 8 schools

Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Sauk Rapids get?

About 45.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Sauk Rapids-Rice?

7.8 inches on March 10, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3.6 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 91.2 inches.

Q: How does the Sauk Rapids-Rice snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Sauk Rapids 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 Sauk Rapids-Rice’s own big snow morning: 3.3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3.6 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 Sauk Rapids-Rice, measured against Sauk Rapids-Rice's own big snow morning of 3.3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Sauk Rapids-Rice close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Sauk Rapids-Rice’s snow record

45.4inches of snow a winter

4.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

3.3 ina big snow morning in Sauk Rapids-Rice: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

5.3Nov

10Dec

7Jan

9.6Feb

8.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 7.8 in on March 10, 2019
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 91.2 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 8.2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.6 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 Sauk Rapids-Rice

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Sartell-St. Stephen School DistrictSartell	45.4 in	1.6
St. Cloud Public School DistrictWaite Park	48.3 in	1.9
Foley Public School DistrictFoley	49.9 in	1.9
Rocori Public School DistrictCold Spring	51.5 in	3
Holdingford Public School DistrictHoldingford	51.5 in	3
Becker Public School DistrictBecker	49 in	2

The schools

8 schools

Every school in Sauk Rapids-Rice follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High
Sauk Rapids-Rice Online School (SRR

Middle

Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School

Elementary

Mississippi Heights Elementary
Pleasantview Elementary
Rice Elementary, Rice

Other schools

Hillside Early Childhood Center
Sauk Rapids ECFE

Questions

Sauk Rapids-Rice snow day questions

How much snow does Sauk Rapids get?

What was the biggest snow day near Sauk Rapids-Rice?

How does the Sauk Rapids-Rice 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.