Nevada Snow Day Calculator: Reno Snow and 3 Contingent Days

Snow in Nevada depends on where you live. Reno averages 25 inches of snow a year, Carson City 25.4 and Sparks 25, so by our rule of thumb schools there close about half the time at about 5 inches of overnight snow. Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas average only 0.2 inch a year, so there even half an inch would do it.

Type your ZIP code above to see the chance for your school. The calculator reads the National Weather Service forecast for your own spot and blends the NOAA stations nearest it, so a school in the hills is judged by the snow up there.

When weather does close schools, Nevada has planned for it. Every district must schedule at least 3 contingent days, to use if inclement weather closes most of its schools, and after those the state superintendent can let more lost days count (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.095).

How much snow closes school in Nevada?

About half an inch in the Las Vegas area and about 5 inches in Reno, Sparks and Carson City, by our rule of thumb. The calculator sets each city’s usual closing point from its normal snowfall, so the more snow a place expects, the more it takes.

Nevada'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.

Carson City has the most snow of the 6, 25.4 inches in a normal year, with Reno and Sparks (25 each) just behind; all three sit at 5 inches. Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas (0.2 inch a year each) are at the rule’s floor, half an inch.

Ice counts too: by our rule of thumb, about 0.08 inch of ice closes schools where snow is rare. Snow that falls overnight (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) or while buses run (6 to 10 a.m.) counts fully, while snow from the afternoon before counts for less, since crews have hours to clear it.

Where does Nevada get the most snow?

In the high country. Of NOAA’s 76 Nevada stations with a snowfall normal for 1991–2020, the snowiest is Wild Horse Reservoir, at about 6,240 feet, with 117 inches a year. The fire station on Mt. Charleston (100.1 inches, about 7,460 feet), Lamoille (84.4), Great Basin National Park (66.7), Ruth (63.9) and Austin (63.6) come next.

Normal snowfall a year and normal December to February low at each of the 76 weather stations in Nevada 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 76 stations in Nevada

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

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

The middle of the list is 13.6 inches a year, and 6 stations, among them Laughlin, Overton and North Las Vegas, average none. Because the calculator blends the stations nearest each ZIP code, a school near a snowy station gets a higher closing point than one near a dry station.

Do snow days have to be made up in Nevada?

The first few are already built in. Nevada districts must provide at least 180 days of school (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.090), and must schedule at least 3 contingent days in case a natural disaster, inclement weather or an accident closes most of a district’s facilities. A contingent day can be a full day, extra minutes (at least 30 a school day) or a mix (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.095).

The state’s rule says when they apply: when at least 75% of a district’s schools are made inaccessible or unusable by a disaster or by inclement weather, “including, without limitation, hazardous air conditions.” All of the contingent days must be used before a district applies for an emergency closing (Nevada Administrative Code 387.120).

Beyond the 3 days, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may, on application, let the lost days or minutes count as school days in session (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.095). A single school’s emergency closure can count too, if the superintendent finds it justified; the request goes in writing (Nevada Administrative Code 387.151).

The calendar itself must contain at least 180 school days in session (Nevada Administrative Code 387.120). A district on an approved alternative schedule must still give at least the minutes of 180 days (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.090, last amended in 2025).

Can Nevada schools switch to remote learning instead?

Only after the contingent days are gone, and only with a program the state approved ahead of time. When all of a district’s schools close for longer than its contingent days, the superintendent may count an extra day as a school day in session only if the district has a distance education program approved by the Department of Education and certifies that students still get nutrition services and their IEP and 504 plan services (Nevada Administrative Code 387.151, amended in March 2023).

So remote teaching helps a district count a closed day only after its contingent days are used up.

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

We found no state cold rule and no Nevada district’s cold number in our research. Our rule of thumb sets cold points of about −4°F to −5°F in the Las Vegas area, where normal winter lows are near 40°F, and −19°F to −20°F in Reno, Sparks and Carson City, where they are near 26°F.

The alert to watch is the National Weather Service’s Extreme Cold Warning, which means extremely dangerous cold or wind chills are expected or occurring (NWS cold alerts). Each local Weather Service office sets its own thresholds (NWS wind chill chart), and the calculator raises the chance when a warning is out for your area.

Who decides, and when do families hear?

Each district’s board of trustees schedules the school year and its contingent days, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction decides whether extra lost days count (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.090 and 388.095). The rules we read do not say who orders a closure on the morning itself, so check your district’s own page.

We did not find a Nevada district’s closing clock in our research, so watch your district’s website, app or local news. The calculator reads snow from 6 a.m. the day before to 3 p.m. on the school day, so look the evening before and again early in the morning, since forecasts change.

Snow days in Nevada

• Closing snow
  • Las Vegas half an inch
  • Reno, Sparks and Carson City 5 inches
• Spare days
  • At least 3 contingent days
  • Full days or extra minutes
• After that
  • State superintendent may count days
  • Single-school closures too
• Remote days
  • Only after contingent days
  • Approved program needed
• Snowiest spots
  • Wild Horse Reservoir 117 inches
  • Mt. Charleston 100.1 inches

Questions people ask

How many snow days does Nevada allow?

Every district schedules at least 3 contingent days for closures like these (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.095). Once they are used, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may let more lost days count, on application.

What is a contingent day in Nevada?

It is a spare school day, or extra minutes of at least 30 a day, that a district builds into its calendar for when a disaster, inclement weather or an accident closes most of its schools (Nevada Revised Statutes 388.095).

Do Nevada’s contingent days cover bad air days?

The state’s rule counts hazardous air conditions as inclement weather for its contingent days (Nevada Administrative Code 387.120). The calculator itself reads snow, ice, wind chill and the Weather Service’s winter, cold and fog alerts, not air quality.

Do Las Vegas schools close for snow?

Las Vegas averages just 0.2 inch of snow a year, so by our rule of thumb half an inch overnight would close schools there about half the time. Type your ZIP code at the top of this page for the chance on the next school day. Only the district decides.

Sources: Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 388, Nevada Administrative Code, chapter 387 and National Weather Service cold alerts.

Facts checked October 29, 2026.

Updated October 29, 2026