How Much Snow Does It Normally Take To Cancel Schools In The US

Map created by Sasha TrubetskoyThe map above shows how much snow over a 24 hour period is enough to cancel schools in the United States.

My first thought as a Canadian is to laugh.

I remember going to school after some pretty major snow storms in -25C (-13F) weather.

However, after moving to London (UK), I have a bit more sympathy to the green areas. Most of them will have little to no snow clearing equipment and the snow will most likely melt within 24-72 hours.

Here are a few more notes from the map’s author:

Notes:

The lightest green says “any snow” but also includes merely the prediction of snow. Also, this is snow accumulation over 24 hours/overnight.

In much of the Midwest and Great Plains, school closing often depends more on wind chill and temperature than on snow accumulation (“cold days”). Thus, this map may be misleading in those areas.

Many jurisdictions in California and other western states have significantly varied snowfall, depending on elevation. This makes it difficult to find an “average” number, or often makes it misleading.

Urban areas like Chicago and New York have more resources to clear snow and often need more to cause closings.

To everyone saying “I grew up in so-and-so and we never closed school,” policies have changed in the last 20 years to make closing a much more common occurrence. Just because schools stayed open back then doesn’t mean they do these days.

Hawaii does get snow! Just… not where people live.

Here’s a different version of the map that’s slightly clearer: