Does Dallas really close for half an inch of snow?

For snow or ice on the roads at bus time, yes. Dallas-Fort Worth averages 0.6 days a year with an inch or more, the region has few plows, and overpasses glaze fast. In the last week of January 2026 North Texas campuses closed for three straight days. The meter's half-inch threshold and its freezing-rain term reflect that.

Do Texas schools have to make up weather days?

They have to reach 75,600 minutes, or get the commissioner to approve fewer after a calamity closure, which districts request through the Texas Education Agency's waiver system. Many calendars carry designated make-up days as a first resort, and Memorial Day is off limits by law.

Can a Texas district hold virtual learning instead of closing?

The agency's guidance on virtual instruction during closures was not readable when we checked on 10 October 2026, so we do not state a rule. Ask your district; the meter scores the chance that buildings close.

Is the Panhandle a different question?

Yes. Amarillo averages 17.2 inches a season and 5 days with an inch or more, and the Texas Department of Transportation plows the interstates there, so Panhandle districts close for drifting and closed highways rather than the first inch. The model's statewide half-inch threshold overstates the chance there; read the reasons under the number.

Snow day calculator Texas

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.

Texas schools usually close around 0.5 inches of overnight snow. Any snow or ice closes schools, including in Dallas and Austin; the 2021 freeze is the reference. The meter below opens on Houston; type your ZIP or town and it reads tonight's hourly forecast for your exact spot and scores it against the Texas threshold.

How much snow it takes in Texas

Texas is three climates with one closure habit. Dallas-Fort Worth averages 1.6 inches of snow a season and 0.6 days with an inch or more; Austin 0.2 inches; Houston 0.1; while Amarillo on the High Plains averages 17.2 inches and 1.5 days with 3 inches or more and Lubbock 7 inches. Everywhere outside the Panhandle, any snow or any ice closes schools, which is why the model's threshold is half an inch and why freezing rain hours and a hard freeze at bus time score so heavily.

The pattern in a real storm is a multi-day shutdown. In the last week of January 2026 the four North Texas campuses of one charter network closed on 26, 27 and 28 January for extreme weather and went to the state for a waiver, and they were typical: districts across the Metroplex closed for most of that week. Amarillo and the Panhandle, with Texas Department of Transportation plows and a January normal of 4 inches, tolerate more and close for drifting and closed interstates rather than the first inch.

Texas winter by the numbers

Station	Snow per season	Days with 1″+	Days with 3″+	Snowiest month
Dallas-Fort Worth	1.6″	0.6	0.1	Feb
Austin	0.2″	0.0	0.0	Feb/Dec
Houston	0.1″	0.1	0.0	Dec
Amarillo	17.2″	5.0	1.5	Jan
Lubbock	7.0″	2.2	0.5	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.

How closures are decided in Texas

Texas counts minutes. Every district must operate for at least 75,600 minutes a year, including instruction, intermissions and recess (Tex. Educ. Code 25.081), which is 180 seven-hour days. When disaster, flood, extreme weather, fuel curtailment or another calamity closes schools, the commissioner of education may approve a district operating fewer minutes, and districts apply for those weather waivers through the Texas Education Agency's online waiver system. Many calendars also carry designated make-up days; one North Texas calendar had 28 February and 6 April 2026 set aside for the purpose. Memorial Day may never be used as a make-up day.

The agency's own guidance on how many closure days it will waive and on virtual instruction during closures was behind an access block when we checked, so those rules are not stated here. Texas has 1,024 regular districts, the most of any state, and each superintendent decides.

Minimum school year: 75,600 minutes including intermissions and recess (Tex. Educ. Code 25.081)
Weather waivers: Commissioner may approve fewer minutes after extreme weather closures; applied for through TEA's online system
Memorial Day: May not be used as a make-up day
Regular districts: 1,024 (NCES, 2021-22)

Questions people ask

Does Dallas really close for half an inch of snow?: For snow or ice on the roads at bus time, yes. Dallas-Fort Worth averages 0.6 days a year with an inch or more, the region has few plows, and overpasses glaze fast. In the last week of January 2026 North Texas campuses closed for three straight days. The meter's half-inch threshold and its freezing-rain term reflect that.
Do Texas schools have to make up weather days?: They have to reach 75,600 minutes, or get the commissioner to approve fewer after a calamity closure, which districts request through the Texas Education Agency's waiver system. Many calendars carry designated make-up days as a first resort, and Memorial Day is off limits by law.
Can a Texas district hold virtual learning instead of closing?: The agency's guidance on virtual instruction during closures was not readable when we checked on 10 October 2026, so we do not state a rule. Ask your district; the meter scores the chance that buildings close.
Is the Panhandle a different question?: Yes. Amarillo averages 17.2 inches a season and 5 days with an inch or more, and the Texas Department of Transportation plows the interstates there, so Panhandle districts close for drifting and closed highways rather than the first inch. The model's statewide half-inch threshold overstates the chance there; read the reasons under the number.

Sources

Tex. Educ. Code 25.081, operation of schools and minutes of instruction (read 2026-10-10)
Great Hearts America-Texas board resolution on the 26-28 Jan 2026 weather closures and TEA waiver, 11 Jun 2026 (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, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, Amarillo and Lubbock (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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