McKenzie County Public School District 1 Snow Day Predictor

Q: When does McKenzie call a snow day?

McKenzie announces closings typically made prior to 6:00 AM, by its own published protocol.

Q: How many snow days does McKenzie have built in?

2 for the 2026 to 2027 school year, listed on the calendar as “NO SCHOOL OR STORM MAKE-UP”.

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

It can. McKenzie has virtual learning 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 McKenzie?

May 20, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How does the McKenzie snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Watford City 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 McKenzie’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 17.9 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will McKenzie close tomorrow?

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

The McKenzie playbook

How McKenzie calls a snow day

When the call comes

Typically made prior to 6:00 AM.

“Announcements related to weather are typically made prior to 6:00 AM. If conditions change following that time, they can be revised as needed;”

Source

How families hear

By phone call, text message, email, the district website, social media and local TV.

“The system will provide an automated call, text, and email.”

Winter Resources | McKenzie County Public SD1

Delayed openings

“Late start- The district will send out instant alert that school will start at 10am.”

Delay schedule

2 built in snow days

On the 2026 to 2027 calendar, listed as “NO SCHOOL OR STORM MAKE-UP”.

“Feb. 12th: NO SCHOOL OR STORM MAKE-UP”

Source

Virtual learning days

McKenzie has virtual learning days in its winter plan.

“A Virtual Learning Day accomodates education and learning for regularly scheduled in-school days when students cannot be transported safely to their school building.”

Source

Making up a lost day

Storm make-up days on February 12 and May 3 if needed.

“May 3rd: NO SCHOOL OR STORM MAKE-UP”

Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 19, 2026
Winter break Dec 23 to Jan 3
Last day May 20, 2027

District calendar

Read from McKenzie’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is watford-city.k12.nd.us.

Ten winters of school mornings

McKenzie’s snow record

35.9inches of snow a winter

3.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.5with 4 in or more

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

24.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

5.2Nov

10Dec

4Jan

4.7Feb

6.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12 in on April 13, 2022
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 55.5 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 6.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 17.9 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 North Dakota rule

How North Dakota counts a lost day

North Dakota requires at least 962.5 hours of instruction for elementary students and 1,050 hours for middle and high school students. When weather cancels or cuts short a day, only the lost hours have to be made up, and only if losing them would put the school under its yearly hours.

The North Dakota rules in the agency’s own words, and every North Dakota district

Next door

Districts near McKenzie

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Williston Basin Public School District 7Williston	33.3 in	1.3
Dickinson Public School District 1Dickinson	53.2 in	1.7	1
Minot Public School District 1Minot			1
Mandan Public School District 1Mandan	50.2 in	1.5	2
Bismarck Public School District 1Bismarck	50.2 in	1.5	2
Belcourt Public School District 7Belcourt	31.2 in	1.3

The schools

5 schools

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

High

Watford City High School
Wolves Center Academy

Middle

Watford City Middle School

Elementary

Fox Hills Elementary School
Badlands Elementary School

Questions

McKenzie snow day questions

When does McKenzie call a snow day?

How does McKenzie announce a snow day?

How many snow days does McKenzie have built in?

Does McKenzie switch to remote learning on a snow day?

When is the last day of school for McKenzie?

How does the McKenzie snow day predictor work?

How does North Dakota handle snow days?

More winter

More for North Dakota 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.North Dakota winter forecastThe season ahead for North Dakota: 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.