Wadena, Minnesota, 1,112 students in 3 schools

Wadena-Deer Creek School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Wadena get?

About 58 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away, averaged over 9 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Wadena-Deer Creek?

11 inches on December 27, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away in 9 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 89.6 inches.

Q: Does Wadena-Deer Creek get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

Wadena-Deer Creek averages 2.9 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 92 percent of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Wadena-Deer Creek snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Wadena 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 Wadena-Deer Creek’s own big snow morning: 4.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 10.5 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Wadena-Deer Creek, measured against Wadena-Deer Creek's own big snow morning of 4.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Wadena-Deer Creek close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Wadena-Deer Creek’s snow record

58inches of snow a winter

6.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.9with 4 in or more

4.5 ina big snow morning in Wadena-Deer Creek: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

31.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 92% of the 322 Minnesota districts with a station record.

4.8Nov

15.7Dec

7.8Jan

11.3Feb

10.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 11 in on December 27, 2021
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 89.6 in
6 in mornings 1 a winter
1 in mornings 10 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 10.5 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 Wadena-Deer Creek

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Perham-Dent Public School DistrictPerham	65.6 in	2.3
Pillager Public School DistrictPillager	69.2 in	3.1
Park Rapids Public School DistrictPark Rapids	57.5 in	3.9
Alexandria Public School DistrictAlexandria	32.3 in	0.8
Pequot Lakes Public SchoolsPequot Lakes	69.2 in	3.1
Detroit Lakes Public School DistrictDetroit Lakes	48.2 in	2.3

The schools

3 schools

Every school in Wadena-Deer Creek follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Wadena-Deer Creek Senior High

Middle

Wadena-Deer Creek 5th and 6th Grade

Elementary

Wadena-Deer Creek Elementary

Questions

Wadena-Deer Creek snow day questions

How much snow does Wadena get?

What was the biggest snow day near Wadena-Deer Creek?

Does Wadena-Deer Creek get more snow days than other Minnesota districts?

How does the Wadena-Deer Creek 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.