West Salem, Wisconsin, 1,841 students in 3 schools

West Salem School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does West Salem get?

About 37.5 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 4 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.6 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near West Salem?

17.3 inches on April 17, 2023, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1 mile away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2022 to 2023, with 72.5 inches.

Q: How does the West Salem snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for West Salem 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 West Salem’s own big snow morning: 3.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1 mile 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 West Salem, measured against West Salem's own big snow morning of 3.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will West Salem close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

West Salem’s snow record

37.5inches of snow a winter

4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.6with 4 in or more

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

3.5Nov

8.4Dec

8.8Jan

6.7Feb

6.3Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 17.3 in on April 17, 2023
Snowiest winter 2022 to 2023, 72.5 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 7.1 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1 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 West Salem

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Onalaska School DistrictOnalaska	41.1 in	1.4
La Crosse School DistrictLa Crosse	51.7 in	2.2
Holmen School DistrictHolmen	41.1 in	1.4
Sparta Area School DistrictSparta	35.1 in	1.3
Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau School DistrictGalesville	35.7 in	2
Viroqua Area School DistrictViroqua	45.1 in	1.9

The schools

3 schools

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

High

West Salem High

Middle

West Salem Middle

Elementary

West Salem Elementary

Questions

West Salem snow day questions

How much snow does West Salem get?

What was the biggest snow day near West Salem?

How does the West Salem 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.