Merrill, Wisconsin, 2,798 students in 7 schools

Merrill Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Merrill get?

About 62.4 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.1 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 3.1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Merrill?

14.2 inches on February 24, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 98.4 inches.

Q: Does Merrill get more snow days than other Wisconsin districts?

Merrill averages 3.1 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 88 percent of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Merrill snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Merrill 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 Merrill’s own big snow morning: 4.1 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station under a mile away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Merrill, measured against Merrill's own big snow morning of 4.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Merrill close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Merrill’s snow record

62.4inches of snow a winter

6.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

3.1with 4 in or more

4.1 ina big snow morning in Merrill: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

20.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 88% of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

5.4Nov

13.5Dec

9.9Jan

15.3Feb

10.1Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14.2 in on February 24, 2019
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 98.4 in
6 in mornings 1.4 a winter
1 in mornings 9.8 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 Wisconsin rule

How Wisconsin counts a lost day

Wisconsin requires hours, not days: 437 for kindergarten, 1,050 for grades 1 to 6 and 1,137 for grades 7 to 12.

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

Next door

Districts near Merrill

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Wausau School DistrictWausau	67.3 in	2.2
Tomahawk School DistrictTomahawk	71.9 in	2.9
D.C. Everest Area School DistrictWeston	67.4 in	2.2	4
Antigo School DistrictAntigo	57.6 in	3.1
Mosinee School DistrictMosinee	54.4 in	2
Medford Area School DistrictMedford	56.8 in	3.3

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Merrill High
Merrill Adult Diploma Academy

Middle

Prairie River Middle

Elementary

Kate Goodrich Elementary
Washington Elementary

Other schools

Bridges Virtual Academy
Pine River School for Young Learners (PRSYL)

Questions

Merrill snow day questions

How much snow does Merrill get?

What was the biggest snow day near Merrill?

Does Merrill get more snow days than other Wisconsin districts?

How does the Merrill snow day predictor work?

How does Wisconsin handle snow days?

More winter

More for Wisconsin 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.Wisconsin winter forecastThe season ahead for Wisconsin: 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.