Washington Snow Day Calculator: Chances & Closure Norms
What closes Washington schools? Very little snow — Snowday's Washington calculator sets the closure baseline near 2–3 inches west of the Cascades, where Seattle averages about 6 inches a year and hills ice over; Spokane needs closer to 4–6. Enter your ZIP code above for tomorrow's chance.
Snow day calculator
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Result
Your forecast appears here. Enter a ZIP code or city above and press Calculate snow day chance.
Fun estimate only — always follow your school district’s official announcements.
How Washington districts decide snow days
Westside districts (Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia) close or delay at roughly 2 to 3 inches — the snow arrives wet, sticks, and refreezes as ice on untreated side streets, and school buses climb hills ordinary vehicles avoid. Because big snow is rare, closures come generously and early, often announced the night before.
Eastern Washington plays by Inland Northwest rules: Spokane averages about 45 inches a year, its districts close in the 4-to-6-inch range, and cold snaps below about 15 °F add closure risk as wind chills build. Mountain-pass districts — and those serving Snoqualmie Pass itself — key off pass closures rather than city forecasts.
Average snowfall in Washington
| Place | Avg. snow per year |
|---|---|
| Seattle | ≈ 6 in/yr |
| Spokane | ≈ 45 in/yr |
| Paradise (Mt. Rainier) | ≈ 640 in/yr |
Averages are approximate NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 climate normals, rounded; the Paradise figure is from the Mount Rainier measuring station, which holds the world single-season record of 1,122 inches (1971–72).
The storm Washington remembers
The February 2019 snow week. In February 2019, back-to-back storms dropped roughly 8 to 12 inches on Seattle over several days — modest totals by national standards — closing Seattle Public Schools for most of a week, the longest weather closure in the city’s modern history. Ice on hills, not snow depth, kept them shut.
Using the calculator in Washington
Snowday sets Washington’s westside baseline near 3 inches, the lowest in our state guides. Try the snow day calculator with ZIP 98101 for Seattle or 99201 for Spokane and compare how the same storm scores differently. For the full picture, open the snow day calculator and see how commute-hour snowfall, cold, and wind combine into tomorrow’s percent chance — free, instant, no sign-up.
Last updated: October 2026