River Falls, Wisconsin, 3,452 students in 9 schools

River Falls School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does River Falls get?

About 50.3 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station under a mile away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4.9 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.4 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near River Falls?

10.5 inches on January 23, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station under a mile away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 78.5 inches.

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

River Falls averages 2.4 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 73 percent of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

Q: How does the River Falls snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for River Falls 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 River Falls’s own big snow morning: 5.2 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 River Falls, measured against River Falls's own big snow morning of 5.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will River Falls close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

River Falls’s snow record

50.3inches of snow a winter

4.9school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.4with 4 in or more

5.2 ina big snow morning in River Falls: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

21.4school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 73% of the 412 Wisconsin districts with a station record.

4.7Nov

11.7Dec

7.3Jan

12.2Feb

7.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10.5 in on January 23, 2018
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 78.5 in
6 in mornings 1.1 a winter
1 in mornings 7.6 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 River Falls

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Hudson School DistrictHudson	50.3 in	2.7
Prescott School DistrictPrescott	35.9 in	2.2
Ellsworth Community School DistrictEllsworth	47 in	3
St. Croix Central School DistrictHammond	51.6 in	2.4
Baldwin-Woodville Area School DistrictBaldwin	51.6 in	2.4
Somerset School DistrictSomerset	36.7 in	1.1

The schools

9 schools

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

High

River Falls High
Renaissance Charter Academy

Middle

Meyer Middle

Elementary

Rocky Branch Elementary
Westside Elementary
Greenwood Elementary
River Falls Public Montessori Academy

Other schools

River Falls 4 Children
River Falls eSchool

Questions

River Falls snow day questions

How much snow does River Falls get?

What was the biggest snow day near River Falls?

Does River Falls get more snow days than other Wisconsin districts?

How does the River Falls 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.