Willmar, Minnesota, 4,220 students in 12 schools

Willmar Public School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Willmar get?

About 51.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.7 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Willmar?

9.5 inches on January 4, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 81.1 inches.

Q: How does the Willmar snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Willmar 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 Willmar’s own big snow morning: 3.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5 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 Willmar, measured against Willmar's own big snow morning of 3.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Willmar close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Willmar’s snow record

51.9inches of snow a winter

5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.7with 4 in or more

3.6 ina big snow morning in Willmar: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

25.3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

5.7Nov

10.6Dec

9.9Jan

10.9Feb

7.2Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 9.5 in on January 4, 2023
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 81.1 in
6 in mornings 0.9 a winter
1 in mornings 8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 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 Willmar

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
New London-Spicer School DistrictNew London	51.9 in	1.7
Litchfield Public School DistrictLitchfield	40.1 in	2.6
Montevideo Public School DistrictMontevideo	28.4 in	2
Hutchinson Public School DistrictHutchinson	43.4 in	2
Rocori Public School DistrictCold Spring	51.5 in	3
Dassel-Cokato Public School DistrictCokato	45.6 in	1.3

The schools

12 schools

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

High

Willmar Senior High
Willmar Area Learning Center

Middle

Willmar Middle School
Middle School ALC

Elementary

Kennedy Elementary
Roosevelt Elementary
Lakeland Elementary School

Other schools

Jefferson Learning Center
Prairie Lakes Education Center
Lake Park School
Lakeview School
Greater Minnesota Education Center

Questions

Willmar snow day questions

How much snow does Willmar get?

What was the biggest snow day near Willmar?

How does the Willmar 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.