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Waite Park, Minnesota, 9,543 students in 27 schools

St. Cloud Public School District Snow Day Predictor

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in St. Cloud, measured against St. Cloud's own big snow morning of 3.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will St. Cloud close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Waite Park.
The St. Cloud playbook

How St. Cloud calls a snow day

When the call comes

By 9 p.m. the evening prior when possible; mornings between 5:15 and 6 a.m.

“If we are able to make decisions about a school closure the evening prior, we will notify you by 9 p.m. If you do not hear from us by 9 p.m., no decisions will be communicated that day. Morning communication will be made between 5:15–6 a.m.”
Source

How families hear

By phone call, radio, local TV, the district website, social media and the district app.

“Announcements regarding school closings, late starts, or early dismissals relative to St. Cloud Area School District 742 will be made on the following radio and television stations:”
Weather Announcements

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“If a temperature is predicted to rise above -35° by 9:30 a.m., a two-hour late start may be considered.”

eLearning days

St. Cloud has eLearning days in its winter plan, up to 5 a year.

“The next five weather-related closings will generally be E-Learning Days as long as there is no interruption of power and/or internet service that would interfere with at-home learning.”
Source

Making up a lost day

After eight weather closings, make-up time set by the superintendent with the board.

“Additional weather-related school closing days will be determined by the Superintendent and make-up time for students and/or staff will be determined by the Superintendent in consultation with the School Board.”
Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

  • First day September 1, 2026
  • Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 1
  • February break Mar 8 to Mar 12
  • Last day June 3, 2027
District calendar

Read from St. Cloud’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is isd742.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

St. Cloud’s snow record

48.3inches of snow a winter
5.6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more
1.9with 4 in or more
3.2 ina big snow morning in St. Cloud: the top tenth of snowy school mornings
4.3Nov
10.6Dec
7.5Jan
10.4Feb
10Mar
Average snowfall by month, inches
  • Biggest day 10 in on March 10, 2019
  • Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 84.1 in
  • 6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
  • 1 in mornings 9.5 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3.8 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.

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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 St. Cloud

DistrictSnow a winter4 in mornings
Sartell-St. Stephen School DistrictSartell45.4 in1.6
Sauk Rapids-Rice Public SchoolsSauk Rapids45.4 in1.6
Rocori Public School DistrictCold Spring51.5 in3
Albany Public School DistrictAlbany46.8 in1.9
Holdingford Public School DistrictHoldingford51.5 in3
Foley Public School DistrictFoley49.9 in1.9
The schools

27 schools

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

High

  • Technical Senior High, Saint Cloud
  • Apollo Senior High, Saint Cloud
  • St. Cloud Area Learning Center
  • ALC - Sauk Rapids, Sauk Rapids
  • Newport Academy, Saint Cloud
  • ALC - Sartell, Sartell
  • 180 Degrees / Youth Shelter, Saint Cloud
  • ALC - Foley, Foley
  • ALC - Holdingford, Holdingford
  • ALC - Kimball, Kimball
  • Central Minnesota Virtual Academy

Middle

  • South Junior High, Saint Cloud
  • North Junior High, Saint Cloud

Elementary

  • Oak Hill Community Elementary, Saint Cloud
  • Talahi Community Elementary, Saint Cloud
  • Madison Elementary, Saint Cloud
  • Kennedy Community School, Saint Joseph
  • Discovery Community Elementary
  • Westwood Elementary, Saint Cloud
  • Clearview Elementary, Clear Lake
  • Lincoln Elementary, Saint Cloud

Other schools

  • EC Sp Ed at Quarryview Ed Center
  • Katherine Johnson Education Center, Saint Cloud
  • Special Education Facilities
  • St. Cloud Hospital Programs Non-Res, Saint Cloud
  • Roosevelt Education Center, Saint Cloud
  • St Cloud Hospital Progs-Residential, Saint Cloud
Questions

St. Cloud snow day questions

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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.