Rhinelander, Wisconsin, 2,298 students in 6 schools

Rhinelander School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Rhinelander get?

About 83.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Rhinelander?

16.6 inches on April 15, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 122.9 inches.

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

Rhinelander averages 2.8 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 83 percent of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Rhinelander snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Rhinelander 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 Rhinelander’s own big snow morning: 3.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Rhinelander, measured against Rhinelander's own big snow morning of 3.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Rhinelander close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Rhinelander’s snow record

83.2inches of snow a winter

6.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.8with 4 in or more

3.8 ina big snow morning in Rhinelander: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

More 4 inch school mornings than 83% of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

9Nov

16.3Dec

13.3Jan

18Feb

13.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 16.6 in on April 15, 2018
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 122.9 in
6 in mornings 1.6 a winter
1 in mornings 11.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.9 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 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 Rhinelander

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Tomahawk School DistrictTomahawk	71.9 in	2.9
Northland Pines School DistrictEagle River	92.5 in	3.2
Merrill Area School DistrictMerrill	62.4 in	3.1
Antigo School DistrictAntigo	57.6 in	3.1
Wausau School DistrictWausau	67.3 in	2.2
D.C. Everest Area School DistrictWeston	67.4 in	2.2	4

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Rhinelander High

Middle

James Williams Middle

Elementary

Crescent Elementary
Central Elementary
Pelican Elementary
Northwoods Community Elementary, Harshaw

Questions

Rhinelander snow day questions

How much snow does Rhinelander get?

What was the biggest snow day near Rhinelander?

Does Rhinelander get more snow days than other Wisconsin districts?

How does the Rhinelander 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.