Rapid City School District 51-4 Snow Day Predictor
The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Rapid City, measured against Rapid City's own big snow morning of 2.8 inches.
Will Rapid City close tomorrow?
How Rapid City calls a snow day
How families hear
By email, text message, phone call and the district website.
“Notifications will be sent via email, text, and voice message, so please ensure your contact information is current in Skyward. Closures will also be noted on rcas.org.”Communication: Closing and Delays for RCAS
A 2 hour delay
On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.
“2-Hour Late Start: This option gives road crews time to clear snow and improve road safety before the school day begins.”
2 built in snow days
On the 2026 to 2027 calendar, listed as “Possible snow make up days”.
“4/23 & 4/26 No School (Possible snow make up days)”Source
Remote learning days
Rapid City has remote learning days in its winter plan.
“If RCAS anticipates closing school the following day, we will notify staff by 1:30 PM and communicate with parents shortly after to prepare students for a remote learning day.”Source
Making up a lost day
Possible snow make-up days April 23 and April 26, decided by April 1.
“Make up snow day communication by 4/1”Source
The 2026 to 2027 calendar
- First day August 24, 2026
- Winter break Dec 23 to Jan 4
- Last day May 26, 2027
Read from Rapid City’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is rcas.org.
Rapid City’s snow record
- Biggest day 14.5 in on November 30, 2019
- Snowiest winter 2019 to 2020, 86.9 in
- 6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
- 1 in mornings 7.9 a winter
Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.2 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.
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
Districts near Rapid City
| District | Snow a winter | 4 in mornings | Built in days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas School District 51-1Box Elder | 50.1 in | 1.4 | 2 |
| Meade School District 46-1Sturgis | 45 in | 1.3 | 3 |
| Huron School District 02-2Huron | 39.5 in | 1.4 | |
| Aberdeen School District 06-1Aberdeen | 33.2 in | 1.3 | |
| Mitchell School District 17-2Mitchell | 37.2 in | 2 | |
| Yankton School District 63-3Yankton | 38 in | 1.6 |
26 schools
Every school in Rapid City follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.
High
- Central High School - 41
- Stevens High School - 42
- Rapid City Online High School - 92
- Lincoln Building - 44
Middle
- Southwest Middle School - 38
- East Middle School - 30
- West Middle School - 37
- South Middle School - 36
- North Middle School - 35
Elementary
- Valley View Elementary - 13
- Rapid Valley Elementary - 12
- Corral Drive Elementary - 21
- Meadowbrook Elementary - 10
- General Beadle Elementary - 01
- Grandview Elementary - 06
- Pinedale Elementary - 11
- Knollwood Heights Elementary - 08
- Black Hawk Elementary - 03, Black Hawk
- Robbinsdale Elementary - 14
- Canyon Lake Elementary - 04
- Horace Mann Elementary - 07
- Woodrow Wilson Elementary - 17
- South Park Elementary - 16
- South Canyon Elementary - 15
Other schools
- Jefferson Building - 64
- Wellfully - 65
Rapid City snow day questions
More for South Dakota snow days
The odds are a forecast read, and the superintendent makes the call: the district’s own announcement is the one to follow.