Why is April Cheyenne's snowiest month?

Upslope storms. Spring systems push moist air west against the Laramie Range, where it rises and dumps heavy wet snow; Cheyenne's April normal is 11.3 inches against 6.3 in January. The meter treats an April blizzard exactly like a January one.

Do Wyoming schools make up snow days?

If the closures push the year below 175 contact days, yes. Every weather closure of half a day or more is reported to the Department of Education within two weeks because operating days drive funding, and districts build spare days in or use virtual days to avoid falling short.

What is a temporary virtual education day in Wyoming?

A remote day under the state's Chapter 41 rules, allowed since 2022-23 for inclement weather and other listed reasons when the district has a board policy the department has approved. Virtual days may not exceed half the school year, and each district decides whether to use them at all; about three quarters had signed up by January 2024.

Does a closed interstate close school?

In practice, often. When I-80 or I-25 closes for wind and blowing snow, the buses that use frontage roads and the staff who commute along it cannot move. The meter scores the wind term and any Blizzard Warning for your coordinates; it does not read road closures directly.

Snow day calculator Wyoming

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.

Wyoming schools usually close around 6 inches of overnight snow. Wind, drifting and closed interstates close schools; snow depth alone rarely does. The meter below opens on Cheyenne; type your ZIP or town and it reads tonight's hourly forecast for your exact spot and scores it against the Wyoming threshold.

How much snow it takes in Wyoming

Wyoming closes when the interstate does. Cheyenne averages 62.9 inches a season and 6.1 days with 3 inches or more, Casper 71.8 inches, Jackson 78.2, and in Cheyenne the snowiest month is April, when upslope storms bury the high plains in wet snow. Depth is not the problem; wind is. The model's 6-inch threshold is deliberately high so that wind over 35 mph with snow on the ground, a Blizzard Warning and the wind chill at bus time carry the decision.

Interstate 80 has closed for its whole length across the state, as it did on 11 and 12 May 2014, and when it does the towns along it have no bus routes. Cold does the rest: Weston County's district cancelled school in January 2024 for wind chills near -45. Wyoming has also moved faster than most states to the virtual day; by January 2024 three quarters of its districts had adopted the state's temporary virtual education policy.

Wyoming winter by the numbers

Station	Snow per season	Days with 1″+	Days with 3″+	Snowiest month
Cheyenne	62.9″	19.5	6.1	Apr
Casper	71.8″	22.2	7.4	Dec
Jackson	78.2″	27.7	8.7	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 Wyoming

Wyoming requires at least 175 student-teacher contact days a year unless the State Board approves an alternative schedule (Wyo. Stat. 21-4-301), inside 185 days of operation (Wyo. Stat. 21-13-307). Because funding is tied to operating days, a district that closes for at least half a day for weather must file a temporary closure form with the Department of Education within two weeks, and any closure that drops the year below 175 days must be made up.

The virtual option is the temporary virtual education day under the department's Chapter 41 rules. From the 2022-23 year a district that plans to use them adopts a board policy reviewed and approved by the department, may use them for inclement weather among other listed reasons, and may not exceed half its school days that way. Districts decide for themselves when or whether to use one. Wyoming has 48 regular districts, roughly two per county.

Minimum school year: 175 contact days in 185 operating days (Wyo. Stat. 21-4-301; 21-13-307)
Closure reporting: Form to the Department of Education within two weeks of any half-day-plus weather closure
Temporary virtual education days: Board policy approved by the department, since 2022-23, under 50 percent of school days (Chapter 41)
Regular districts: 48 (NCES, 2021-22)

Questions people ask

Why is April Cheyenne's snowiest month?: Upslope storms. Spring systems push moist air west against the Laramie Range, where it rises and dumps heavy wet snow; Cheyenne's April normal is 11.3 inches against 6.3 in January. The meter treats an April blizzard exactly like a January one.
Do Wyoming schools make up snow days?: If the closures push the year below 175 contact days, yes. Every weather closure of half a day or more is reported to the Department of Education within two weeks because operating days drive funding, and districts build spare days in or use virtual days to avoid falling short.
What is a temporary virtual education day in Wyoming?: A remote day under the state's Chapter 41 rules, allowed since 2022-23 for inclement weather and other listed reasons when the district has a board policy the department has approved. Virtual days may not exceed half the school year, and each district decides whether to use them at all; about three quarters had signed up by January 2024.
Does a closed interstate close school?: In practice, often. When I-80 or I-25 closes for wind and blowing snow, the buses that use frontage roads and the staff who commute along it cannot move. The meter scores the wind term and any Blizzard Warning for your coordinates; it does not read road closures directly.

Sources

Wyo. Stat. 21-4-301, minimum school year (FindLaw text current to Jan 2024) (read 2026-10-10)
Wyoming Department of Education memo 2021-114, guidance for temporary school closures (read 2026-10-10)
Wyoming Department of Education memo 2022-080, Chapter 41 temporary virtual education policy (read 2026-10-10)
Cowboy State Daily, is virtual learning the death of snow days, 19 Jan 2024 (read 2026-10-10)
SweetwaterNow, WYDOT plows working to reopen I-80 after the statewide closure, May 2014 (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, Cheyenne, Casper and Jackson (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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