South Washington County School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: When does South Washington call a snow day?

South Washington announces closings generally by 5 a.m. the morning of a cancellation; may be the evening before, by its own published protocol.

Q: How does South Washington announce a snow day?

By phone call, email and text message, and on the district’s own closings page.

Q: Does South Washington switch to remote learning on a snow day?

It can. South Washington has eLearning days in its winter plan. When a closing gets likely, the morning here reads "Snow day or remote day".

Q: When is the last day of school for South Washington?

June 9, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Cottage Grove get?

About 35.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: How does the South Washington snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Cottage Grove 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 South Washington’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will South Washington close tomorrow?

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

The South Washington playbook

How South Washington calls a snow day

When the call comes

Generally by 5 a.m. the morning of a cancellation; may be the evening before.

“The decision to move to an emergency closure for weather will generally be made by 5 a.m. the morning of a cancellation for weather. Depending on forecast certainty, the decision may be made the evening before a cancellation.”

Source

How families hear

By phone call, email and text message.

“Families will receive notice of an e-learning day through an automated phone call, email and/or text message with at least two hours notice prior to the school start time.”

Emergency Procedures - South Washington County Schools (SoWashCo Schools)

eLearning days

South Washington has eLearning days in its winter plan.

“South Washington County Schools may shift to an e-learning day due to wind chill, snow, ice, hazardous roads, inclement weather or other situations.”

Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day September 8, 2026
Winter break Dec 23 to Jan 4
Last day June 9, 2027

District calendar

Read from South Washington’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is sowashco.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

South Washington’s snow record

35.9inches of snow a winter

4.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.2with 4 in or more

5 ina big snow morning in South Washington: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

17.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 68% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

2.7Nov

6.8Dec

7Jan

10.5Feb

5.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9 in on January 23, 2018
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 70.2 in
6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
1 in mornings 7.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.5 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 South Washington

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Inver Grove Heights SchoolsInver Grove Heights	57.9 in	3.6
South St. Paul Public School DistrictSouth Saint Paul	50.3 in	2.2
Hastings Public School DistrictHastings	53.2 in	2.7
West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-EaganMendota Heights	40.5 in	1.4
St. Paul Public School DistrictSaint Paul	40.5 in	1.4
Rosemount-Apple Valley-EaganRosemount	57.9 in	3.6

The schools

29 schools

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

High

East Ridge High School, Woodbury
Park High School
Woodbury High School, Woodbury
Next Step Transition Program
South Washington Alternative HS
SoWashCo Online 9-12, Woodbury
Access

Middle

Lake Middle School, Woodbury
Woodbury Middle School, Woodbury
Oltman Middle School
Cottage Grove Middle School

Elementary

Liberty Ridge Elementary, Woodbury
Grey Cloud Elementary
Valley Crossing Elementary, Woodbury
Gordon Bailey Elementary, Woodbury
Red Rock Elementary, Woodbury
Middleton Elementary, Woodbury
Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion, Saint Paul Park
Pine Hill Elementary
Royal Oaks Elementary, Woodbury
Woodbury Elementary, Woodbury
Hillside Elementary
Cottage Grove Elementary
Crestview Elementary
Pullman Elementary, Saint Paul Park
Armstrong Elementary
Newport Elementary, Newport
SoWashCo Online K-5

Other schools

Ages 3-5 Early Childhood Special Ed

Questions

South Washington snow day questions

When does South Washington call a snow day?

How does South Washington announce a snow day?

Does South Washington switch to remote learning on a snow day?

When is the last day of school for South Washington?

How much snow does Cottage Grove get?

How does the South Washington 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.