Has Florida ever had a snow day?

Yes, in the Panhandle. Escambia County schools closed on 21 and 22 January 2025 and Santa Rosa County from 20 to 22 January for a Gulf winter storm that brought snow and ice to Pensacola. South of Tallahassee the question does not come up; the 1991-2020 normals there are zero.

Why does the meter show almost nothing for my Florida ZIP?

Because the hourly forecast for your spot has no snow or freezing rain in it, and the meter scores only what the forecast contains. A cold front that drops Orlando to 35 degrees is not a closure signal; a Panhandle forecast with freezing rain at 6 am is.

Do Florida schools make up hurricane days?

Usually, and locally. The State Board can waive the 180-day requirement only when it finds make-up is not feasible; after Irma in 2017 the commissioner waived up to two days statewide. After Helene and Milton in 2024, Tampa Bay districts rebuilt their calendars themselves, converting holidays and waiving exams.

Is there a cold-day closure in Florida?

Not as a rule. The cold-day calculator on this site scores wind chill at bus time and Extreme Cold Warnings, which Florida almost never sees; a Panhandle hard freeze is far more likely to close school for ice on bridges than for temperature.

Snow day calculator Florida

Chance of a snow day

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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

Portland Public Schools, Oregon publishes its closure decision no later than 5 am (read 10 Oct 2026)
Omaha Public Schools announced the 23 January 2026 cold closure at 5:50 pm the evening before (read 10 Oct 2026)
Little Rock School District announced a two-day closure the afternoon before the 9 January 2025 storm (read 10 Oct 2026)
Minnesota e-learning days must be announced at least two hours before the normal start time, by statute (read 10 Oct 2026)

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

Florida schools usually close around 0.5 inches of overnight snow. Snow days are close to mythical; the Panhandle closes on any wintry mix or ice. The meter below opens on Jacksonville; type your ZIP or town and it reads tonight's hourly forecast for your exact spot and scores it against the Florida threshold.

How much snow it takes in Florida

Florida's snowfall normal is zero. Jacksonville and Tallahassee both carry a 1991-2020 normal of 0.0 inches, and NOAA publishes no snow normal at all for Pensacola. The model's half-inch threshold is there for the one place it applies, the western Panhandle, and for the one storm type that applies: a Gulf system that brings freezing rain or a brief burst of snow to Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

That storm arrived on 21 January 2025. Escambia County schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday and Santa Rosa County closed Monday to Wednesday, while the state transportation department pre-treated more than 600 Panhandle bridges and plowed 519 centerline miles of state road overnight, with Interstates 10 and 75 as the priority corridors. For most of the peninsula the meter will show a chance near zero all winter, because the hourly forecast will never contain frozen precipitation.

Florida's real weather closures are hurricanes, and the state's make-up machinery is built for them rather than for snow.

Florida winter by the numbers

Station	Snow per season	Days with 1″+	Days with 3″+	Snowiest month
Jacksonville	0.0″	0.0	0.0	none
Tallahassee	0.0″	0.0	0.0	none

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. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Pensacola.

How closures are decided in Florida

Florida districts must operate for 180 actual teaching days or the hourly equivalent set by State Board rule (Fla. Stat. 1011.60). The equivalents in the rule, as reported when Tampa Bay districts planned their post-hurricane make-up in October 2024, are 720 hours for kindergarten through grade 3 and 900 hours for grades 4 to 12; we could not read the rule text itself.

The State Board may alter the 180-day requirement during a national, state or local emergency, but only where it decides that making up the lost days or hours is not feasible, and a strike never counts as an emergency. The last statewide use we found was after Hurricane Irma in 2017, when the commissioner waived up to two teaching days for closed districts. Otherwise the 67 county districts make time up locally: after Helene and Milton in 2024, Manatee lost about eight days, Pasco seven, and Pinellas waived first-semester finals and turned two holidays into school days. We found no state rule on virtual snow days; there has been little call for one.

Minimum school year: 180 teaching days or the hourly equivalent (Fla. Stat. 1011.60)
Emergency relief: State Board may alter the requirement only where make-up is not feasible
Snow normal: 0.0 inches at Jacksonville and Tallahassee; none published for Pensacola
County districts: 67 (NCES, 2021-22)

Questions people ask

Has Florida ever had a snow day?: Yes, in the Panhandle. Escambia County schools closed on 21 and 22 January 2025 and Santa Rosa County from 20 to 22 January for a Gulf winter storm that brought snow and ice to Pensacola. South of Tallahassee the question does not come up; the 1991-2020 normals there are zero.
Why does the meter show almost nothing for my Florida ZIP?: Because the hourly forecast for your spot has no snow or freezing rain in it, and the meter scores only what the forecast contains. A cold front that drops Orlando to 35 degrees is not a closure signal; a Panhandle forecast with freezing rain at 6 am is.
Do Florida schools make up hurricane days?: Usually, and locally. The State Board can waive the 180-day requirement only when it finds make-up is not feasible; after Irma in 2017 the commissioner waived up to two days statewide. After Helene and Milton in 2024, Tampa Bay districts rebuilt their calendars themselves, converting holidays and waiving exams.
Is there a cold-day closure in Florida?: Not as a rule. The cold-day calculator on this site scores wind chill at bus time and Extreme Cold Warnings, which Florida almost never sees; a Panhandle hard freeze is far more likely to close school for ice on bridges than for temperature.

Sources

Fla. Stat. 1011.60, 180 teaching days and emergency alteration (read 2026-10-10)
WUSF, Tampa Bay districts make up hurricane time, 25 Oct 2024 (hour equivalents and local make-up) (read 2026-10-10)
Education Week, Florida waives two teaching days after Hurricane Irma, 19 Sep 2017 (read 2026-10-10)
NewsRadio 92.3, Northwest Florida snowstorm closures, 21 Jan 2025 (read 2026-10-10)
Florida Division of Emergency Management, FDOT winter storm response, 22 Jan 2025 (read 2026-10-10)
NCES Digest table 214.30, regular school districts by state, 2021-22 (read 2026-10-10)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, Jacksonville and Tallahassee (read 2026-10-10)

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.

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