Yankton School District 63-3 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How does Yankton announce a snow day?

By email, phone call, text message and the district app, and on the district’s own closings page.

Q: How long is a delayed start in Yankton?

2 hours: on a delay morning every school starts that much later.

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

May 18, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Yankton get?

About 38 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 3 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.8 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Yankton?

15.5 inches on January 25, 2017, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 3 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 62.5 inches.

Q: How does the Yankton snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Yankton 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 Yankton’s own big snow morning: 5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 3 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will Yankton close tomorrow?

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

The Yankton playbook

How Yankton calls a snow day

How families hear

By email, phone call, text message and the district app.

“Email, Phone, Text We use our mass notification system to send outreach and emergency messages to families and staff.”

Stay Connected: Communication Channels

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“We may use a 2-Hour Late Start when weather and road conditions interfere with a normal starting time.”

Delay schedule

Making up a lost day

Weather days are made up, up to ten, with June 2, 2027 the last possible day.

“Make-up days for school closing because of weather, disease, or emergency need not exceed ten (10) days. The last possible day that school could be in session during the 2026-27 school year is June 2, 2027.”

Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day August 17, 2026
Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 1
Last day May 18, 2027

District calendar

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Yankton’s snow record

38inches of snow a winter

3.8school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

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

11.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 62% of the 147 South Dakota districts with a station record.

3.6Nov

8.2Dec

10.3Jan

6.4Feb

4.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 15.5 in on January 25, 2017
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 62.5 in
6 in mornings 0.8 a winter
1 in mornings 6.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 3 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 Yankton

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Harrisburg School District 41-2Harrisburg	44.9 in	1.9
Sioux Falls School District 49-5Sioux Falls	44.9 in	1.9
Brandon Valley School District 49-2Brandon	43.1 in	1.3	1
Mitchell School District 17-2Mitchell	37.2 in	2
Brookings School District 05-1Brookings	37.5 in	1.2
Huron School District 02-2Huron	39.5 in	1.4

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Yankton High School - 01

Middle

Yankton Middle School - 02

Elementary

Lincoln Elementary - 04
Beadle Elementary - 03
Webster Elementary - 06
Stewart Elementary - 05

Questions

Yankton snow day questions

How does Yankton announce a snow day?

How long is a delayed start in Yankton?

When is the last day of school for Yankton?

How much snow does Yankton get?

What was the biggest snow day near Yankton?

How does the Yankton 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.