SnowDayMeter

Snow day calculator District of Columbia

Chance of a snow day
No location yet
Type a ZIP
School

Best time to check

The evening before, after 9 pm
The evening model runs are in by then and the forecast here refreshes every 30 minutes. A number read at 6 pm can move by several inches of snow before midnight.
The morning of, 5 to 7 am
The strip above shades 4 to 7 am. Snow still falling in those hours lands on the commute, so the model counts it extra, and most districts have decided by the time the buses roll at 7.

When districts actually decide

Every district sets its own cut-off; these are published examples, not a rule.

District of Columbia schools usually close around 2.5 inches of overnight snow. DC Public Schools close on a few inches or ice; the federal government's status often sets the tone. The meter below opens on Washington, DC; type your ZIP or town and it reads tonight's hourly forecast for your exact spot and scores it against the District of Columbia threshold.

How much snow it takes in District of Columbia

Washington closes on a few inches, and the whole region watches it do so. Reagan National averages 13.7 inches a season, 3.7 days with an inch or more and 1.4 days with 3 inches or more; Dulles, out in the suburbs, averages 21 inches. February is the snowiest month at both. The model's 2.5-inch threshold reflects a city with hills, narrow rowhouse streets and a bus fleet that shares the road with the federal commute.

The federal government's operating status is the other signal. When the Office of Personnel Management closes federal offices or moves them to telework, the District's own decision tends to follow, and the meter treats a Winter Storm Warning for the city as a strong term. The 6 January 2025 storm is the pattern: the Mayor announced the DC Public Schools closure at a news conference the day before, and reopened on time on 8 January while neighbouring Maryland and Virginia districts stayed closed.

The DC Snow Team is a city operation, not a state one: more than 800 staff, 447 pieces of equipment and 42,000 tons of salt in its 2016-17 plan.

District of Columbia winter by the numbers

StationSnow per seasonDays with 1″+Days with 3″+Snowiest month
Washington (Reagan National)13.7″3.71.4Feb
Washington Dulles21.0″5.32.3Feb

1991-2020 climate normals for the airport or first-order station in each city, read 2026-10-10 from the NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. “Days with 3″+” is the average number of calendar days a year with at least 3 inches of new snow. Both stations are across the river in Virginia; Reagan National is the official climate station for the District.

How closures are decided in District of Columbia

The District requires at least 180 instructional days of at least six hours each (5-A DCMR 2100.3), and the six hours may include lunch, recess and breaks. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education, OSSE, encourages schools to build surplus days and hours into the calendar with snow days in mind, and a school that still has spare days above 180 and 1,080 hours can close without making the day up. Schools at the floor must add make-up days, use a distance-learning day, or seek a waiver, which OSSE grants only for exigent circumstances.

The remote option has a name and a number. Every school that normally teaches in person has a bank of five situational distance learning days a year, usable at the school's discretion without advance OSSE approval; they count as instructional days but cannot be pre-built into the calendar, and a sixth needs a waiver. OSSE can also order or permit situational distance learning city-wide. The District is a single regular district, so a DCPS closure, announced by the Mayor, covers every traditional public school at once; charter schools decide for themselves.

Minimum school year
180 days of at least 6 hours (5-A DCMR 2100.3)
Remote snow days
A bank of 5 situational distance learning days per school, no advance approval
Who announces
The Mayor, for DC Public Schools; charters decide individually
Snow operation
DC Snow Team: 800+ staff, 447 pieces of equipment, 42,000 tons of salt (2016-17 plan)

Questions people ask

Does DC close school when the federal government closes?
Not automatically, but the two decisions usually line up because they read the same forecast and the same roads. The meter does not read OPM's status; it reads the hourly forecast and any National Weather Service warning for your coordinates, which is what both decisions are based on.
What is a situational distance learning day?
OSSE's name for a remote day used in place of a closure. Each school gets a bank of five a year, needs no advance approval to use one, and the day counts toward the 180. The bank cannot be written into the calendar in advance, and using more than five requires a waiver.
How often does Washington actually get a 3-inch snow?
About 1.4 days a year at Reagan National in the 1991-2020 normals, and 2.3 days at Dulles. That rarity is why the model's threshold is 2.5 inches: a storm that would be a delay in Baltimore is a closure here.
Do DC schools have to make up snow days?
Only if the calendar has no slack. OSSE tells schools to build surplus days and hours in; a school above 180 days and 1,080 hours can close without make-up, and one at the floor must add a day, use a banked distance-learning day or apply for a waiver, which OSSE grants only for exigent circumstances.

Sources

The closure threshold itself is our model's estimate from typical district practice, not an official figure. Districts, not states, make the call. The model page shows every term.

Embed this calculator

Paste this anywhere HTML is allowed. It is free; keep the credit link.

<iframe src="https://snowdaymeter.com/embed/snow-day" width="100%" height="760" loading="lazy" title="Snow day calculator District of Columbia"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://snowdaymeter.com/snow-day-calculator/district-of-columbia">Snow day calculator District of Columbia</a> by SnowDayMeter</p>