Kentucky Snow Day Calculator: Chances, NTI Days and Make-Up Rules

In most of Kentucky’s big cities, 2 to 3 inches of snow is where schools close about half the time, by our rule of thumb. Covington, the snowiest city on our map at 20.1 inches in a normal winter, sits higher, at 4 inches.

Snow is light in much of the state. Across all 77 of Kentucky’s NOAA weather stations, the middle one normally gets 7.7 inches a year; among the 69 the calculator uses, it is 8.6. Owensboro gets 6.7. Where snow is that scarce, ice can do the closing: by our rule of thumb, about 0.08 inch of ice is enough in places with little snow.

When schools close, Kentucky wants the time back. The law sets a school year of 1,062 hours on at least 170 days with no free snow days. Districts amend their calendars, or teach from home on up to 10 Nontraditional Instruction (NTI) days.

How much snow closes school in Kentucky?

Between 2 and 4 inches, by our rule of thumb, depending on the city: 2 in Bowling Green and Owensboro, 3 in Louisville, Lexington and Georgetown, and 4 in Covington. That is the amount at which schools close about half the time.

Kentucky's six largest cities: 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.

The spread follows the snow. Covington normally gets 20.1 inches a winter, about 3 times Owensboro’s 6.7, yet its closing point is only twice as high, because our rule grows more slowly than snowfall. Louisville, with 12.3 inches, lands between them.

Timing can matter more than the total. Snow that falls overnight or while buses run (6 to 10 AM) counts in full. Snow during the school day counts at 45%, and snow the morning before at only 35%. Wet snow falling above freezing counts less again.

Districts differ, too. If yours is known for staying open, or for closing early, set it to rarely closes or closes easily and the calculator moves the closing point.

Do Kentucky schools have to make up snow days?

Yes. Kentucky has no automatic free days: under KRS 158.070, each school term must hold the full instructional year, so a missed day comes back when the board amends its calendar. A board that amends after an emergency may also lengthen or shorten the remaining days by 30 minutes or more.

The year can be built in hours. The law asks for 1,062 hours on at least 170 student attendance days. A variable calendar may use fewer days if the hours still add up, with days of no more than 7 hours and a first day no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26.

There is a waiver for truly bad winters, and it starts late. The Kentucky Department of Education’s Pupil Attendance Manual for 2026–27 says a district gets no emergency day waiver unless it has missed more than 20 regular attendance days, and it must make up at least the first 20. It must also prove “extreme hardship,” and the commissioner decides.

The manual has a separate money rule. After a district’s 5 lowest-attendance days are dropped, it may ask to drop up to 10 more days of low attendance caused by weather. That protects attendance figures, not the calendar. The statute text we read took effect June 27, 2025, and the manual is the one for the 2026–27 school year.

How do NTI days work in Kentucky?

An NTI day lets a closed district keep teaching from home, Kentucky’s version of the e-learning day, and the state allows up to 10 a year. KRS 158.070 lets the state grant “up to the equivalent of ten (10) student attendance days” to districts with an approved plan, for days closed for health or safety reasons. The state’s NTI Guidance lists weather-related closures as an example.

The plan comes first. It must reach the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) by May 1 of the year before it is used, KDE decides within 45 days, and each plan covers one school year. A district’s NTI days are planned months before the first flake.

The day itself has rules:

• It is a full attendance day. KDE permits no half days.
• All K-12 students take part, by video or phone, by logging in to a learning system, or with paper work.
• No minimum share of students has to take part, but low participation can lead KDE to turn a day down.
• Teachers work that day and should be reachable online or by phone for questions about the work.

Each NTI day is approved afterward by the Commissioner of Education, with the district’s data due June 1. The district must also keep records that show learning went on.

Where does Kentucky get the most snow?

Closplint, at about 1,800 feet, has the highest normal of Kentucky’s 77 NOAA weather stations: 34.6 inches a year. Next come Jackson at 23.4 inches and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport at 23.3.

Normal snowfall a year and normal December to February low at each of the 77 weather stations in Kentucky 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 77 stations in Kentucky

A station marked “left out” reports far less snow than the stations around it at a similar height, most likely because snowfalls went unmeasured, so the calculator does not use it. How the calculator works.

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

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

Those are big numbers for Kentucky. By our rule of thumb, a place with Closplint’s snowfall would need about 6 inches to close, 3 times what Bowling Green needs. NOAA’s normals cover 1991 to 2020.

At the bottom, 6 stations show normals of 1.4 inches or less. The calculator leaves out 5 of them, marked in the table, because each reports far less snow than the stations around it. Only 8 of the 77 stations are what NOAA calls standard, with 24 or more years of records; the other 69 are provisional, with at least 10. Read any single station’s number as a rough guide to its own spot.

How cold does it have to be to close school in Kentucky?

Kentucky’s school-year law sets no temperature and we have no Kentucky district’s cold rule on file, so the calculator uses our cold point: a wind chill of −15°F to −20°F in the map’s cities, by our rule of thumb. It is the normal December-to-February low minus 45°F. For districts elsewhere that publish a number, see how cold is too cold for school.

Bowling Green’s normal winter low is 30°F, so its cold point is −15°F. Covington’s is 25.4°F, so its cold point is −20°F. The Weather Service’s wind chill chart shades frostbite times of 30, 10 and 5 minutes.

Alerts weigh in as well. The Weather Service’s wind chill page says each office sets its alert criteria locally, and asks adults to “be even more cautious with children.” An Extreme Cold Warning, the name that replaced the Wind Chill Warning on or about October 1, 2024, raises the calculator’s chance more than a watch or a Cold Weather Advisory.

Who decides, and when do families hear?

Your local school board and superintendent decide each closure. Kentucky law lets a local board close schools “for the number of days deemed necessary” when a local emergency endangers children’s health or safety, under KRS 158.070. The board also adopts the calendar, after a district calendar committee gives input.

Read the whole announcement. In a district with an NTI plan, a closed building can still mean a full school day at home. Your district’s website, app, or local TV and radio carry the decision. For how districts weigh the call in general, see how schools decide snow days.

The calculator is for the night before. It reads the National Weather Service forecast for the part of your ZIP code where most people live and shows its reasons, so you can tell whether a chance comes from snow, ice, cold or an alert. Forecasts can shift by morning.

Snow days in Kentucky

• Snow
  • 2 inches in Bowling Green
  • 3 in Louisville
  • 4 in Covington
• Ice and cold
  • 0.08 inch of ice where snow is rare
  • Cold point −15°F to −20°F
• School year
  • 1,062 hours
  • At least 170 days
• Make-up
  • Amend the calendar
  • Days 30 minutes longer
  • Waiver after 20 days
• NTI days
  • Up to 10 a year
  • Plan due May 1
  • Full days only
• Who decides
  • Local board
  • Superintendent

Questions people ask

How many NTI days can Kentucky schools use?

Up to 10 a year, and only with a plan KDE approved before the school year. Each day is approved again afterward by the Commissioner of Education.

Do Kentucky schools have to make up snow days?

Yes, unless the day was an approved NTI day. There are no free snow days in the law. An emergency waiver comes only after a district has missed more than 20 attendance days and made up the first 20.

Can an NTI day be a half day?

No. KDE’s guidance says a full attendance day must be used: “No half-days are permitted.” A district cannot run a short NTI morning and count it.

What if my child can’t get online on an NTI day?

Students can take part by video or phone, by logging in, or with paper work, according to KDE’s NTI Guidance. Ask your school how it handles paper work before the first storm.

Sources: KRS 158.070 (Kentucky Legislature); KDE NTI Guidance; KDE Pupil Attendance Manual 2026–27.

Facts checked October 29, 2026.

Updated October 29, 2026