South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2,783 students in 6 schools

South Milwaukee School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does South Milwaukee get?

About 31.9 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.2 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.8 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near South Milwaukee?

13 inches on February 16, 2021, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2020 to 2021, with 50 inches.

Q: How does the South Milwaukee snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for South Milwaukee 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 South Milwaukee’s own big snow morning: 4.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.8 miles away.

Q: Can Wisconsin schools hold a remote day instead?

If a district offers make-up instruction virtually on a weather closure, those hours can count; the rule sets no cap on such days.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in South Milwaukee, measured against South Milwaukee's own big snow morning of 4.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will South Milwaukee close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

South Milwaukee’s snow record

31.9inches of snow a winter

3.2school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.8with 4 in or more

4.9 ina big snow morning in South Milwaukee: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

5.2school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

2.3Nov

3.8Dec

9.8Jan

10.1Feb

4.4Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 13 in on February 16, 2021
Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 50 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 6 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.8 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 South Milwaukee

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Cudahy School DistrictCudahy	41.3 in	1.6
Oak Creek-Franklin School DistrictOak Creek	41.3 in	1.6
St. Francis School DistrictSaint Francis	41.3 in	1.6
Greenfield School DistrictGreenfield	37.8 in	2
Greendale School DistrictGreendale	37.8 in	2
Franklin Public School DistrictFranklin	37.8 in	2	1

The schools

6 schools

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

High

South Milwaukee High

Middle

South Milwaukee Middle

Elementary

Rawson Elementary
Blakewood Elementary
Lakeview Elementary
E W Luther Elementary

Questions

South Milwaukee snow day questions

How much snow does South Milwaukee get?

What was the biggest snow day near South Milwaukee?

How does the South Milwaukee snow day predictor work?

How does Wisconsin handle snow days?

Can Wisconsin schools hold a remote day instead?

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.