Hawaii Snow Day Calculator: Snow Chances and School-Day Rules

Hawaii’s weather records leave little room for a snow day. All 85 of NOAA’s Hawaii stations with a snowfall normal for 1991–2020 average 0.0 inches a year, even the 2 highest, Halepohaku and Haleakala, at about 9,260 and 6,960 feet. Honolulu’s normal winter low is 66.1°F.

So the calculator’s snow day chance for a Hawaii ZIP code stays near zero unless the National Weather Service forecasts snow, ice or a bitter wind chill at bus time. Type your ZIP code above anyway: the calculator reads the forecast for your own spot and shows the chance of a snow day, a late start or school as usual, with its reasons.

For closed school days of any kind, Hawaii’s law is short. Public schools, except charter and multi-track schools, must hold a 180-day school year that includes 1,080 student hours, and the Board of Education may grant a waiver to an individual school (Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-251). We found no state policy on how days lost to an emergency are made up.

How much snow would close school in Hawaii?

By our rule of thumb, half an inch overnight, the lowest closing point the calculator uses anywhere. The closing point grows with a place’s normal snowfall, and Honolulu’s is 0.

Hawaii's largest city: normal snowfall a year (NOAA 1991–2020) and the snowfall and wind chill at which, by our rule of thumb, schools there usually close.

Our rule of thumb: the usual closing point is 0.5 × (normal snowfall a year)^0.7, the cold point the normal December–February low minus 45°F. How the calculator works.

Honolulu is the only Hawaii city on the calculator’s map. Its cold point is a wind chill of 0°F, the top of the rule’s range: the rule takes the normal December–February low minus 45 degrees, and for Honolulu that is still well above zero. Ice counts too, at about 0.08 inch by our rule.

Where does Hawaii get the most snow?

Nowhere that NOAA’s normals can see. Every one of the 85 Hawaii stations averages 0.0 inches a year, from Kapaka Farm, about 3 feet above sea level, to Halepohaku, about 9,260 feet up.

Normal snowfall a year and normal December to February low at each of the 85 weather stations in Hawaii with a snowfall normal in NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020, with each station's location, elevation and how complete its record is.

The 10 snowiest and 5 least snowy of 85 stations in Hawaii

Download “Normal snowfall at Hawaii weather stations, 1991–2020” (CSV, opens in Excel)

Built from: U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 (National Centers for Environmental Information).

A normal of 0.0 means the average over the years on record rounds to zero, not that snow can never fall. All 85 Hawaii normals are marked provisional, built from 10 or more years of records. The calculator does not rely on normals alone: it reads each day’s forecast.

Do closed school days have to be made up in Hawaii?

The law sets the target; we did not find the make-up rule. Since 2016–17, Hawaii’s public schools must hold a school year of 180 days, not counting professional development and other non-instructional days, that includes 1,080 student hours for both elementary and secondary grades (Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-251). The rule does not cover charter schools or multi-track schools.

The Department of Education says all time on campus counts toward the hours, including recess and lunch (school calendar page).

The 2026–27 calendar runs from August 3, 2026, to May 27, 2027, for students. It lists 89 student days in the first semester and 93 in the second, notes that 2 instructional days will be converted to non-student days, and gives a total of 180 (2026–27 school calendar, amended March 30, 2026). As we read it, the calendar has no spare days beyond the 180.

The only route in the law is a waiver: the Board of Education may grant a waiver to any individual school from the hours or the 180-day requirement, under waiver policies it must adopt (Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-251). We looked for a Department or Board of Education rule on days lost to emergencies such as storms, floods or wildfires, and did not find one.

Can Hawaii schools switch to remote learning instead?

We did not find a rule either way. Neither the state law nor the Department of Education’s calendar page says anything about remote days, so ask your school how a closed day would be handled.

Who decides, and when do families hear?

Hawaii’s public schools are one statewide system, so one calendar covers them, apart from charter schools and the multi-track school (school calendar page). Waivers come from the Board of Education, not from a school (Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-251). The rules we read do not say who orders a closure.

For any closing, watch the Department of Education’s and your school’s announcements and local news. The calculator reads only winter weather: snow, ice, wind chill and the Weather Service’s winter, cold and fog alerts. It does not read hurricane, flood or other alerts, so it says nothing about storms of those kinds.

Snow days in Hawaii

• Snow
  • All 85 stations average 0.0
  • Honolulu winter low 66.1°F
• Our rule
  • Half an inch of snow
  • About 0.08 inch of ice
  • Wind chill 0°F
• School year
  • 180 days
  • 1,080 hours
  • Lunch and recess count
• Closed days
  • Board of Education waivers
  • Make-up rule not found
• Not found
  • Remote days
  • Who orders a closure

Questions people ask

Does Hawaii have snow days?

Hawaii’s weather records give little reason to expect one: all 85 of NOAA’s Hawaii stations average 0.0 inches of snow a year, and Honolulu’s normal winter low is 66.1°F. The calculator still checks each forecast. By our rule of thumb, half an inch of snow or about 0.08 inch of ice would close schools about half the time.

How many school days does Hawaii require?

A 180-day school year that includes 1,080 student hours, for both elementary and secondary grades, since 2016–17 (Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-251). Charter schools and multi-track schools are not covered by that rule.

Do lunch and recess count toward Hawaii’s 1,080 hours?

Yes. The Department of Education says all time on campus counts, including recess and lunch (school calendar page).

When does the 2026–27 school year start and end in Hawaii?

For students, on August 3, 2026, and May 27, 2027, with 180 student days in all (2026–27 school calendar). The statewide calendar does not cover charter schools or the multi-track school.

Sources: Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-251 (the school year), Hawaii State Department of Education school calendar page and 2026–27 school calendar.

Facts checked October 29, 2026.

Updated October 29, 2026