Rice Lake, Wisconsin, 2,177 students in 6 schools

Rice Lake Area School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Rice Lake get?

About 41.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 5.9 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 5.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.2 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Rice Lake?

12.2 inches on March 16, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 5.9 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 66 inches.

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

Rice Lake averages 2.2 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 64 percent of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Rice Lake snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Rice Lake 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 Rice Lake’s own big snow morning: 4.5 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 5.9 miles away.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Rice Lake, measured against Rice Lake's own big snow morning of 4.5 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Rice Lake close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Rice Lake’s snow record

41.7inches of snow a winter

5.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.2with 4 in or more

4.5 ina big snow morning in Rice Lake: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

22.8school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 64% of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

3.4Nov

10.5Dec

7.9Jan

9.8Feb

6.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 12.2 in on March 16, 2026
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 66 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 9.6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 5.9 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 Rice Lake

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Cameron School DistrictCameron	41.7 in	2.2
Barron Area School DistrictBarron	41.7 in	2.2
Bloomer School DistrictBloomer	37.9 in	2
Amery School DistrictAmery	56.7 in	2.6
Hayward Community School DistrictHayward	57.3 in	2.6
Menomonie Area School DistrictMenomonie	45.3 in	2.5

The schools

6 schools

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

High

Rice Lake High

Middle

Rice Lake Middle

Elementary

Tainter Elementary
Hilltop Elementary
Haugen Elementary, Haugen

Other schools

Hilltop Day Care and Preschool

Questions

Rice Lake snow day questions

How much snow does Rice Lake get?

What was the biggest snow day near Rice Lake?

Does Rice Lake get more snow days than other Wisconsin districts?

How does the Rice Lake 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.