How many snow days can an Idaho district take without making them up?

About two. The statute lets a board deduct up to 11 hours of weather or facility emergency closures from its required hours. More than that needs a State Board waiver, which is only available after a county or state disaster declaration and a showing of make-up efforts.

Can Idaho schools do a virtual day instead of a snow day?

The state discourages it. The Department of Education's April 2026 guidance says the emergency-instruction law does not cover snow days and that a virtual substitute is unlikely to provide the same instruction, so a closure is a closure unless the district has hours to spare.

Why does Boise so rarely close?

Boise averages 1.2 days a year with 3 inches or more and the valley plows keep up. The closures that happen, like 18 January 2024, come when a second storm lands on roads still covered from the first. The model's 6-inch threshold is where the chance starts to climb for the Treasure Valley.

What about the mountain and Panhandle districts?

They see far more snow than Boise and close for drifting, closed passes and buses that cannot run unploughed county roads, more than for a depth. The meter reads the forecast for your coordinates and any warning covering them, so type your own ZIP rather than Boise's.

Snow day calculator Idaho

Chance of a snow day

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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.

Idaho schools usually close around 6 inches of overnight snow. Boise rarely closes; mountain districts close on heavy snow and drifting roads. The meter below opens on Boise; type your ZIP or town and it reads tonight's hourly forecast for your exact spot and scores it against the Idaho threshold.

How much snow it takes in Idaho

Boise closes rarely, and the normals say why: 17.6 inches a season, 6.1 days with an inch or more and 1.2 days with 3 inches or more, with December the snowiest month. Pocatello in the southeast averages 38.5 inches, and the mountain districts of the Panhandle and the central ranges far more. The model's 6-inch threshold is a Treasure Valley number; up north and in the mountains it is drifting county roads and closed passes, not the total, that stop the buses.

When Boise does close it is usually a second-day decision. On 18 January 2024 the Boise, West Ada, Nampa, Kuna and Middleton districts all closed for a second straight day after afternoon snow covered roads that had not yet been cleared from the first storm. The Idaho Transportation Department runs 429 plows over more than 13,000 lane miles of state highway, but the school buses are on city and county streets.

Idaho's weather allowance is written in hours, and in 2026 the state told districts not to swap a snow day for a virtual one.

Idaho winter by the numbers

Station	Snow per season	Days with 1″+	Days with 3″+	Snowiest month
Boise	17.6″	6.1	1.2	Dec
Pocatello	38.5″	12.6	3.4	Dec

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 Idaho Falls or Coeur d'Alene.

How closures are decided in Idaho

Idaho's year is measured in instructional hours set by Idaho Code 33-512: 990 for grades 9 to 12, 900 for grades 4 to 8, 810 for grades 1 to 3 and 450 for kindergarten, excluding transport, passing time, recess and lunch. The local board of trustees fixes the days and hours school is in session. Against those totals, a board may deduct up to 11 hours of emergency closures for adverse weather or facility failure, which is roughly two school days. Beyond that, the State Board can waive hours only after a county or state disaster declaration, and the request must show what the district did to make the time up.

There is no state virtual snow day programme. The State Department of Education's April 2026 attendance guidance says the emergency-instruction statute does not cover snow days, and that substituting a virtual day for a snow day is unlikely to match in-person instruction; it also notes that districts whose calendars already exceed the minimum hours need not use the 11-hour allowance at all. The 115 regular districts decide closures locally, and the state superintendent can exempt a single building when the rest of a district is open.

Minimum school year: 990 / 900 / 810 / 450 hours by grade band (Idaho Code 33-512)
Weather allowance: Up to 11 hours of emergency closures deductible with board approval
Virtual snow days: Discouraged by the State Department of Education's April 2026 guidance
Regular districts: 115 (NCES, 2021-22)

Questions people ask

How many snow days can an Idaho district take without making them up?: About two. The statute lets a board deduct up to 11 hours of weather or facility emergency closures from its required hours. More than that needs a State Board waiver, which is only available after a county or state disaster declaration and a showing of make-up efforts.
Can Idaho schools do a virtual day instead of a snow day?: The state discourages it. The Department of Education's April 2026 guidance says the emergency-instruction law does not cover snow days and that a virtual substitute is unlikely to provide the same instruction, so a closure is a closure unless the district has hours to spare.
Why does Boise so rarely close?: Boise averages 1.2 days a year with 3 inches or more and the valley plows keep up. The closures that happen, like 18 January 2024, come when a second storm lands on roads still covered from the first. The model's 6-inch threshold is where the chance starts to climb for the Treasure Valley.
What about the mountain and Panhandle districts?: They see far more snow than Boise and close for drifting, closed passes and buses that cannot run unploughed county roads, more than for a depth. The meter reads the forecast for your coordinates and any warning covering them, so type your own ZIP rather than Boise's.

Sources

Idaho Code 33-512, governance of schools and instructional hours (archived copy) (read 2026-10-10)
Idaho State Department of Education, virtual and hybrid attendance guidance, April 2026 (read 2026-10-10)
Idaho Statesman via Yahoo, Boise-area districts cancel a second day, 18 Jan 2024 (read 2026-10-10)
Idaho Transportation Department, winter driving tips with fleet figures (archived copy) (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, Boise and Pocatello (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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