Minnesota Snow Day Calculator: Chances & Closure Norms
What closes Minnesota schools? Snowday's Minnesota calculator needs about 5–8 inches of snow for a base snow day score, but the sharper trigger is wind chill near −35 °F — the level where many districts close even without snow. Minneapolis averages about 52 inches a year. Enter your ZIP above.
Snow day calculator
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Result
Your forecast appears here. Enter a ZIP code or city above and press Calculate snow day chance.
Fun estimate only — always follow your school district’s official announcements.
How Minnesota districts decide snow days
The common snow rule: 5 to 8 inches overnight, or less during the 5–9 a.m. commute, closes most districts. The common cold rule: when the National Weather Service forecast pushes wind chills near −35 °F, districts close — that threshold reflects guidance Minnesota health and education officials have circulated for years, because frostbite time at that level falls to roughly 10 minutes.
January 2019 proved the cold rule at scale: Governor Tim Walz closed every public school in Minnesota on January 28–29, 2019 — the first statewide closure since 1997. Minneapolis and St. Paul districts absorb roughly five to seven snow or cold days in a typical winter.
Average snowfall in Minnesota
| Place | Avg. snow per year |
|---|---|
| Minneapolis | ≈ 52 in/yr |
| Duluth | ≈ 90 in/yr |
| International Falls | ≈ 71 in/yr |
Averages are approximate NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 climate normals, rounded. International Falls, self-styled “Icebox of the Nation,” combines about 71 inches of snow with some of the coldest average temperatures of any U.S. town.
The storm Minnesota remembers
The Halloween Blizzard of 1991. From October 31 to November 2, 1991, an early-season storm dumped 28.4 inches on the Twin Cities — still the largest single-storm total in Minneapolis–St. Paul records. Schools closed for days across the state, and Minnesotans still measure big October snows against it.
Using the calculator in Minnesota
Snowday scores Minnesota with a 5-inch snow baseline and a cold-hours bonus that regularly decides the outcome. Run the snow day calculator with ZIP 55401 and watch the temperature factor tomorrow. For the full picture, open the snow day calculator and see how commute-hour snowfall, cold, and wind combine into tomorrow’s percent chance — free, instant, no sign-up.
Last updated: October 2026