Mitchell School District 17-2 Snow Day Predictor

Q: When is the last day of school for Mitchell?

May 21, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Mitchell get?

About 37.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.5 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Mitchell?

17.2 inches on January 3, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 67.6 inches.

Q: Does Mitchell get more snow days than other South Dakota districts?

Mitchell averages 2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 83 percent of the 147 South Dakota districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Mitchell snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Mitchell 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 Mitchell’s own big snow morning: 4.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

The next three school mornings

Will Mitchell close tomorrow?

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

The Mitchell playbook

How Mitchell calls a snow day

Making up a lost day

The first two days cancelled for weather each year are not made up; any beyond two are made up (board policy MSD 320); no make-up dates are named.

“the first two school days cancelled each year due to weather conditions shall not be made up. School days cancelled beyond 2 each year shall, however, be made up.”

Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 19, 2026
Winter break Dec 23 to Jan 4
Last day May 21, 2027

District calendar

Recent snow days

2024 to 2025. 2-hour late start on February 18, 2025 for extreme cold.
“Mitchell SD 17-2: 2-Hour Late Start Due to extremely low temperatures, Mitchell K-12 and Saint John Paul II Schools will have a 2-hour late start tomorrow, February 18.”
District notice
2022 to 2023. Closed January 4, 2023 for weather.
“Due to weather conditions, the Mitchell School District, K-12 and Mitchell Technical College, as well as John Paul II Elementary School, will be closed on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.”
District notice

Read from Mitchell’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is mitchell.k12.sd.us.

Ten winters of school mornings

Mitchell’s snow record

37.2inches of snow a winter

3.5school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2with 4 in or more

4.9 ina big snow morning in Mitchell: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

12.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 83% of the 147 South Dakota districts with a station record.

2.5Nov

9.9Dec

6.9Jan

5.7Feb

6.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 17.2 in on January 3, 2023
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 67.6 in
6 in mornings 0.7 a winter
1 in mornings 5.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile 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 Mitchell

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Huron School District 02-2Huron	39.5 in	1.4
Yankton School District 63-3Yankton	38 in	1.6
Sioux Falls School District 49-5Sioux Falls	44.9 in	1.9
Harrisburg School District 41-2Harrisburg	44.9 in	1.9
Brandon Valley School District 49-2Brandon	43.1 in	1.3	1
Brookings School District 05-1Brookings	37.5 in	1.2

The schools

9 schools

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

High

Mitchell High School - 01
Abbott House High School - 07

Middle

Mitchell Middle School - 02

Elementary

L. B. Williams Elementary - 03
Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary - 04
Longfellow Elementary - 05
Rosedale Colony Elementary - 11
Rockport Colony Elementary- 10, Alexandria
Abbott House Elementary - 06

Questions

Mitchell snow day questions

When is the last day of school for Mitchell?

How much snow does Mitchell get?

What was the biggest snow day near Mitchell?

Does Mitchell get more snow days than other South Dakota districts?

How does the Mitchell 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.