Thief River Falls, Minnesota, 1,811 students in 5 schools

Thief River Falls School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Thief River Falls get?

About 39.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 12.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Thief River Falls?

8.7 inches on December 16, 2022, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 12.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 64.3 inches.

Q: How does the Thief River Falls snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Thief River Falls 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 Thief River Falls’s own big snow morning: 3 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 12.4 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 Thief River Falls, measured against Thief River Falls's own big snow morning of 3 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Thief River Falls close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Thief River Falls.

Ten winters of school mornings

Thief River Falls’s snow record

39.1inches of snow a winter

3.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.6with 4 in or more

3 ina big snow morning in Thief River Falls: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3.1Nov

11.6Dec

6.4Jan

7.2Feb

4.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 8.7 in on December 16, 2022
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 64.3 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 7.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 12.4 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 Thief River Falls

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Crookston Public School DistrictCrookston	49.9 in	2.6
East Grand Forks Public School DistrictEast Grand Forks	56.5 in	1.9
Roseau Public School DistrictRoseau	56.6 in	1
Red Lake Public School DistrictRed Lake	27.4 in	0.6
Warroad Public School DistrictWarroad	56.6 in	1
Bemidji Public School DistrictBemidji	57.1 in	2.3

The schools

5 schools

Every school in Thief River Falls follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Lincoln Senior High
Northwest Area Learning Center
Summer NW Area Learning Center

Middle

Franklin Middle

Elementary

Challenger Elementary

Questions

Thief River Falls snow day questions

How much snow does Thief River Falls get?

What was the biggest snow day near Thief River Falls?

How does the Thief River Falls 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.