How many snow days are forgiven in Kansas?

Up to five, but only up to the number of compensatory days the board scheduled. A district that built two make-up days into its calendar has two forgiven; one that built five has five. In a winter of persistent hazardous driving the State Board can waive the term requirement entirely.

Can a Kansas district switch to remote learning on a snow day?

Only within a 40-hour annual cap per student, and the Department of Education recommends building-wide remote days only in extreme circumstances. Each remote day needs daily contact between the student and their own teacher by phone or video, logged for audit, so most districts simply close.

Does Wichita close on 3 inches?

Often, if it is still falling at bus time or ice is in the mix; Wichita averages only 1.3 days a year with 3 inches or more. On 26 January 2026 the district closed for winter weather while a neighbour closed for wind chill. The meter scores the snow, the ice hours and the wind chill separately.

Snow day calculator Kansas

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.

Kansas schools usually close around 3 inches of overnight snow. Ice and blowing snow do most of the closing; three to four inches overnight is usually enough. The meter below opens on Wichita; type your ZIP or town and it reads tonight's hourly forecast for your exact spot and scores it against the Kansas threshold.

How much snow it takes in Kansas

Kansas closes for what blows and what glazes. Wichita averages 12.7 inches of snow a season and 1.3 days with 3 inches or more; Topeka 17.1 inches; Dodge City 19.1; Goodland out on the High Plains 30 inches with 3.2 such days. February is the snowiest month across the state. Three to four inches overnight is enough in the east, which is where the model's 3-inch threshold comes from, but an ice storm or a 40 mph wind driving 2 inches across open roads closes more schools than any calm snowfall.

The 26 January 2026 closures show both kinds. Wichita Public Schools and the districts around it cancelled for winter weather, and Rose Hill, a few miles southeast, cited dangerously low wind chills rather than the snow. The state transportation department covers about 25,000 lane miles and, by its own December 2023 figures, was about a quarter short of the plow operators it needed, which is one reason rural routes clear slowly.

Kansas winter by the numbers

Station	Snow per season	Days with 1″+	Days with 3″+	Snowiest month
Wichita	12.7″	3.9	1.3	Feb
Topeka	17.1″	5.0	1.5	Feb
Dodge City	19.1″	5.4	1.9	Feb
Goodland	30.0″	8.8	3.2	Feb

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 Kansas

Kansas writes an unusually specific snow-day rule. The school term is 186 days for kindergarten through grade 11 and 181 for seniors, or by local policy 465, 1,116 and 1,086 hours (K.S.A. 72-3115). The board or its designee decides whether inclement weather will cause hazardous driving conditions, and a partial day already attended counts as a full day. Boards may schedule compensatory days; closures beyond those are forgiven up to the lesser of the compensatory days scheduled or five days, and the State Board may waive the term outright when hazardous driving has persisted for an inordinate period.

Remote learning is capped by statute. Since 2021-22 a district may not provide any student more than 40 school-term hours of remote learning (K.S.A. 72-5180), roughly six school days, unless the State Board authorises more after a disaster, up to 240 hours. The Department of Education's January 2025 inclement-weather FAQ recommends building-level remote learning only in extreme circumstances and requires daily meaningful contact by the student's own teacher, by phone or video, with logs kept for audit. The 286 regular districts each make the call.

Minimum school year: 186 days K-11, 181 for grade 12, or 1,116 / 1,086 hours (K.S.A. 72-3115)
Forgiven closures: Up to the lesser of scheduled compensatory days or 5 days
Remote learning cap: 40 school-term hours per student a year (K.S.A. 72-5180)
Who decides: The local board or its designee, by statute

Questions people ask

How many snow days are forgiven in Kansas?: Up to five, but only up to the number of compensatory days the board scheduled. A district that built two make-up days into its calendar has two forgiven; one that built five has five. In a winter of persistent hazardous driving the State Board can waive the term requirement entirely.
Can a Kansas district switch to remote learning on a snow day?: Only within a 40-hour annual cap per student, and the Department of Education recommends building-wide remote days only in extreme circumstances. Each remote day needs daily contact between the student and their own teacher by phone or video, logged for audit, so most districts simply close.
Who decides a Kansas snow day?: The school board or its designee, usually the superintendent, by statute. K.S.A. 72-3115 says the board or designee determines whether inclement weather will cause hazardous driving conditions, and the time pupils have already attended counts as a school day if the decision comes mid-morning.
Does Wichita close on 3 inches?: Often, if it is still falling at bus time or ice is in the mix; Wichita averages only 1.3 days a year with 3 inches or more. On 26 January 2026 the district closed for winter weather while a neighbour closed for wind chill. The meter scores the snow, the ice hours and the wind chill separately.

Sources

K.S.A. 72-3115, school term, inclement weather and forgiven days (read 2026-10-10)
K.S.A. 72-5180, remote learning limits (read 2026-10-10)
KSDE, remote learning for inclement weather FAQ, 17 Jan 2025 (read 2026-10-10)
KWCH, Wichita and other districts cancel school, 25 Jan 2026 (read 2026-10-10)
KDOT, snow and ice efforts (updated Dec 2023, 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, Wichita, Topeka, Dodge City and Goodland (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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