Does Chicago close for cold?

Yes, more readily than for snow. CPS cancelled all classes on 16 January 2024 for extreme cold under a wind chill advisory. The meter scores wind chill at bus time and any Extreme Cold or Wind Chill Warning; for a clear, bitter night the cold-day calculator on this site is the better tool.

How many e-learning days can an Illinois district use?

Five a school year, unless a day is used because the school is a polling place. The programme has to be adopted by board resolution, verified each year by the regional office of education, and each day must provide at least five clock hours of instruction or school work.

What is an Act of God day in Illinois?

A closure that does not have to be made up. It is only available once a district has used all its e-learning days and all its emergency days, and it needs approval from the regional office of education and the State Board.

Why does the same 4 inches close the suburbs but not the city?

Suburban districts run long bus routes on township roads before dawn, while CPS pupils mostly walk or take city transit on arterial streets that are plowed first. O'Hare sees 3.9 days a year with 3 inches or more; the model's 4-inch threshold is where suburban closures become common, with snow still falling at bus time as the tipping factor.

Snow day calculator Illinois

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.

Illinois schools usually close around 4 inches of overnight snow. Chicago Public Schools close for extreme cold as often as for snow; suburbs close at 4 to 6 inches. The meter below opens on Chicago; type your ZIP or town and it reads tonight's hourly forecast for your exact spot and scores it against the Illinois threshold.

How much snow it takes in Illinois

Chicago Public Schools close for cold as often as for snow, and the suburbs close at 4 to 6 inches. O'Hare averages 38.4 inches a season, 3.9 days with 3 inches or more and 1.4 days with 5 inches or more; Rockford is similar at 37.1 inches; Peoria and Springfield downstate average 26.2 and 21.8. January is the snowiest month everywhere in the state.

The model's 4-inch threshold is the suburban number, and the wind chill term carries Chicago's. On 16 January 2024 CPS cancelled every class for extreme cold under a wind chill advisory, while many suburban and private schools closed or switched to e-learning. A big dry snow that ends by midnight is usually just a hard commute in the city; the same total still falling at 7 am on the collar-county bus routes closes Naperville and Elgin.

Downstate, where the Illinois Department of Transportation's 1,900 trucks cover 45,000 lane miles of state road, the closures are more about ice and blowing snow on open prairie roads than about depth.

Illinois winter by the numbers

Station	Snow per season	Days with 1″+	Days with 3″+	Snowiest month
Chicago (O'Hare)	38.4″	11.4	3.9	Jan
Peoria	26.2″	8.1	2.6	Jan
Rockford	37.1″	11.1	3.9	Jan
Springfield	21.8″	6.2	2.2	Jan

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.

How closures are decided in Illinois

Illinois requires a term of at least 185 days to ensure 176 days of actual pupil attendance (105 ILCS 5/10-19), and the State Board's calendar guidelines require every district to schedule at least five proposed emergency days. Using one converts it to an emergency day that must be made up. Only after all e-learning and emergency days are gone can a district ask its regional office and the State Board for an Act of God day, which is not made up.

The e-learning day has its own statute, 105 ILCS 5/10-20.56. A board adopts an e-learning programme by resolution in place of its emergency days, the regional office of education verifies it annually, approval runs for three school years, and each e-learning day must deliver at least five clock hours of instruction or school work. The cap is five a year, except that days used because a school is a polling place do not count against it. Illinois also requires districts to pay support staff their regular pay on a closure or e-learning day. With 857 regular districts, the state has more separate closure decisions than any but Texas and California.

Minimum school year: 185-day term with 176 attendance days (105 ILCS 5/10-19)
Built-in emergency days: At least 5 in every calendar; used days are made up
E-learning days: Up to 5 a year, 5 clock hours each, board resolution, verified by the regional office (105 ILCS 5/10-20.56)
Regular districts: 857 (NCES, 2021-22)

Questions people ask

Does Chicago close for cold?: Yes, more readily than for snow. CPS cancelled all classes on 16 January 2024 for extreme cold under a wind chill advisory. The meter scores wind chill at bus time and any Extreme Cold or Wind Chill Warning; for a clear, bitter night the cold-day calculator on this site is the better tool.
How many e-learning days can an Illinois district use?: Five a school year, unless a day is used because the school is a polling place. The programme has to be adopted by board resolution, verified each year by the regional office of education, and each day must provide at least five clock hours of instruction or school work.
What is an Act of God day in Illinois?: A closure that does not have to be made up. It is only available once a district has used all its e-learning days and all its emergency days, and it needs approval from the regional office of education and the State Board.
Why does the same 4 inches close the suburbs but not the city?: Suburban districts run long bus routes on township roads before dawn, while CPS pupils mostly walk or take city transit on arterial streets that are plowed first. O'Hare sees 3.9 days a year with 3 inches or more; the model's 4-inch threshold is where suburban closures become common, with snow still falling at bus time as the tipping factor.

Sources

105 ILCS 5/10-19, length of school term (archived copy) (read 2026-10-10)
105 ILCS 5/10-20.56, e-learning days (archived copy) (read 2026-10-10)
Illinois State Board of Education, public school calendar guidelines 2026-27 (read 2026-10-10)
Axios Chicago, CPS cancels classes for extreme cold, 15 Jan 2024 (read 2026-10-10)
Illinois Department of Transportation, winter weather operations (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, Chicago O'Hare, Rockford, Peoria and Springfield (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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