School Closing Outlook for Friday 01/30/2026
- Jacob Melton
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 16 minutes ago
Day 1 School Closing Outlook Results
Forecast Results Issued: Friday, January 30, 2026, 8:30 AM
Transparency when it comes to our forecasts is important here at West Michigan Weather. That includes when we miss, such as this morning.
Closures or delays were not nearly as widespread as anticipated, with only a few instances reported in our “Likely” zone, and even those were confined along/north of US-10. Further south, only Orchard View Schools in Muskegon County was closed due to a lack of heating at the High School.
So, why did we miss? It comes down to the fact that wind chill minimums this morning did not drop as much as our forecasts indicated. We are including a map of observed wind chills around the area at 6:30 AM this morning, which is generally the time school closure and/or delay decisions are made by school districts.
As you can see, the coldest wind chills were confined along/north of I-96 and especially near US-10, with locations south of I-96 still above zero with the wind chills at 6:30 AM this morning. While there is no set criterion for wind chills when it comes to closures/delays, in our experience, most districts tend to make those decisions when the wind chills drop to or below -20 degrees.
It is also worth noting that most, if not all, schools in our area have reached or exceeded the six allotted snow days from the state of Michigan. While schools can apply for extra forgiveness days from the state of Michigan, future school closures may tend to be reserved for more significant weather events.
Day 1 School Closing Outlook
Forecast Valid: Friday, January 30, 2026
Forecast Issued: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 4:00 PM
Forecasters: Jonah Drake and Jacob Melton
Summary:
School closures or delays are likely across West Michigan on Friday morning, particularly the further north you go across the area, due to dangerously cold wind chills as low as the -15 to -25 degree range.
Discussion:
School closures or delays appear likely across West Michigan on Friday morning due to forecasted dangerously cold wind chills in the -15 to -25 degree range, with the coldest wind chills expected the further north you go.
The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued Cold Weather Advisories this afternoon, which go into effect at midnight tonight and are valid until 10 AM on Friday for the potential of wind chills in the -15 to -25 degree range. The advisories are in effect for areas along and north of the Interstate 94 corridor, as shown within the map below.
Some of our northern areas, especially around and north/east of a Baldwin-Newaygo-Stanton-Ithaca line, stand the best chance of seeing the lowest wind chill minimums tomorrow morning, within the -20 to -25 degree range. This is where we have placed a “Likely” risk for school closures and/or delays for Friday morning.
Chances for closures do begin to drop off with southward extent, although “Elevated” and “Medium” risks for school closures and delays do extend down to the I-96 and I-94 corridors, respectively, where wind chills of -15 to -20 degrees are still likely. Closer to the I-94 corridor, the coldest wind chills will be slower to arrive overnight, but will be in the area by the time students are arriving at the bus stops.
School closures or delays are the least likely near the stateline, as timing will be a bit more unfavorable, and wind chills won’t be quite as cold as further north. However, some isolated instances are still a possibility, and as such, we have placed “Limited” probabilities to cover this potential.
Graphical Forecast:
