Brandon, South Dakota, 4,991 students in 8 schools

Brandon Valley School District 49-2 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How many snow days does Brandon Valley have built in?

1 for the 2026 to 2027 school year, listed on the calendar as “Snow Day”.

Q: When is the last day of school for Brandon Valley?

May 27, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Brandon get?

About 43.1 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Brandon Valley?

10.4 inches on December 11, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 70.7 inches.

Q: How does the Brandon Valley snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Brandon 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 Brandon Valley’s own big snow morning: 3.6 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Brandon Valley, measured against Brandon Valley's own big snow morning of 3.6 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Brandon Valley close tomorrow?

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

The Brandon Valley playbook

How Brandon Valley calls a snow day

1 built in snow day

On the 2026 to 2027 calendar, listed as “Snow Day”.

“Thurs., Mar 18 Snow Day - No School if unused”

Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 26, 2026
Winter break Dec 23 to Jan 1
Last day May 27, 2027

District calendar

The board policy

“The superintendent may close the district schools or dismiss them early when hazardous weather or other emergencies threaten the health or safety of students and personnel.”

Board policy

Read from Brandon Valley’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is brandonvalley.k12.sd.us/co.

Ten winters of school mornings

Brandon Valley’s snow record

43.1inches of snow a winter

4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.3with 4 in or more

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

3.6Nov

9.1Dec

9.3Jan

8.1Feb

6.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.4 in on December 11, 2021
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 70.7 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 6.4 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 6.5 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 South Dakota rule

How South Dakota counts a lost day

South Dakota requires at least 437.5 hours for kindergarten, 875 hours for grades 1 to 5 and 962.5 hours for grades 6 to 12; the local board sets the number of days. The Secretary of Education may waive the minimum hours when the Governor or the President declares a state of emergency covering the school; there is no fixed count of forgiven days.

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

Next door

Districts near Brandon Valley

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Sioux Falls School District 49-5Sioux Falls	44.9 in	1.9
Harrisburg School District 41-2Harrisburg	44.9 in	1.9
Brookings School District 05-1Brookings	37.5 in	1.2
Yankton School District 63-3Yankton	38 in	1.6
Mitchell School District 17-2Mitchell	37.2 in	2
Watertown School District 14-4Watertown	36.8 in	1.1

The schools

8 schools

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

High

Brandon Valley High School - 01

Middle

Brandon Valley Intermediate - 07
Brandon Valley Middle School - 02

Elementary

Brandon Elementary - 03
Robert Bennis Elementary - 05
Fred Assam Elementary - 06, Sioux Falls
Inspiration Elementary - 08, Sioux Falls
Valley Springs Elementary - 04, Valley Springs

Questions

Brandon Valley snow day questions

How many snow days does Brandon Valley have built in?

When is the last day of school for Brandon Valley?

How much snow does Brandon get?

What was the biggest snow day near Brandon Valley?

How does the Brandon Valley snow day predictor work?

How does South Dakota handle snow days?

More winter

More for South 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.South Dakota winter forecastThe season ahead for South 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.