Oklahoma Snow Day Calculator: Ice, Snow and 2026–27 Virtual Days

A little snow goes a long way in Oklahoma. Tulsa averages 8.4 inches a year and Oklahoma City 6.2, so by our rule of thumb schools close about half the time at about 2 inches of overnight snow there, 1.5 inches in Norman and Edmond, and half an inch in Lawton. Ice can do it too: about 0.08 to 0.1 inch, by our rule.

Type your ZIP code above to see the chance for your school, worked out from the National Weather Service forecast for your own spot.

The rules for closed days change this school year. From 2026–27, a district may not count days when school is closed and taught online, except for up to 2 days or 12 hours with a state-approved plan, a governor’s emergency proclamation and its school board’s approval (70 O.S. 1-109).

How much snow closes school in Oklahoma?

About half an inch to 2 inches of overnight snow, by our rule of thumb. The calculator sets each city’s usual closing point from its normal snowfall, so the snowier the town, the more it takes.

Oklahoma'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.

Tulsa (8.4 inches a year), Broken Arrow (7.5) and Oklahoma City (6.2) sit at 2 inches. Norman (5.2) and Edmond (4.8) are at 1.5, and Lawton, with 1.7 inches a year, rounds to half an inch.

When it falls matters. The calculator counts snow and ice fully overnight (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and while buses run (6 to 10 a.m.), and less from the afternoon before. Snow that falls while the air is above freezing counts for less, because roads stay wet. The National Weather Service usually issues an Ice Storm Warning for around a quarter inch of ice or more (NWS winter alerts), and a warning out for your area raises the calculator’s chance.

Where does Oklahoma get the most snow?

Up high. Of NOAA’s 141 Oklahoma stations with a snowfall normal for 1991–2020, the snowiest is Boise City, at about 4,130 feet, with 31.8 inches a year, and the next, Regnier (21.3 inches), is also above 4,000 feet. Gate (17.6), Laverne (17.4), Hooker (17.0) and Woodward (14.7) follow.

Normal snowfall a year and normal December to February low at each of the 141 weather stations in Oklahoma 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 141 stations in Oklahoma

Download “Normal snowfall at Oklahoma 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 4.7 inches a year, and every one of the 141 stations averages at least a little snow; the least, Antlers, gets 0.3 inch. The calculator blends the NOAA stations nearest your ZIP code, so its numbers follow your own part of the state.

Do snow days have to be made up in Oklahoma?

A district has to reach its minimum one way or another. Oklahoma law requires school to be in session for at least 181 days, or 1,086 hours under a school-hours policy the board adopts and reports to the State Board before October 15; one hours option, added for 2025–26, also sets a floor of 166 days (70 O.S. 1-109, as amended in 2025).

A shorter year is allowed only when conditions beyond the control of school authorities make a full term impossible, and the State Board of Education has agreed in writing. On an hours calendar, a district that closes partway through a day for bad weather counts the hours already taught that day (70 O.S. 1-109).

We found no fixed number of free weather days in the law, and no State Board rule on how lost days are made up, so the days-or-hours minimum is what a district has to meet.

A 2026 law would raise the minimum on the 1,086-hour option from 166 to 173 days from 2027–28, but only if the Education Department’s appropriation for the 2028 fiscal year is at least $175 million above 2026’s. It is not in effect (HB 3151 of 2026).

Can Oklahoma schools switch to remote learning instead?

Only a little, starting this year. Beginning in 2026–27, a district may not count days, or parts of days, when school is closed and virtual instruction is provided (70 O.S. 1-109).

The exception is up to 2 days or 12 hours a year, and only if all 3 of these are true: the State Superintendent approved the district’s virtual instruction plan (plans are due each November 1, with approvals by January 31); the Governor has issued a state of emergency or proclamation for a reason relating to school operations; and the district’s board approves the virtual day (70 O.S. 1-109).

The exception does not apply to statewide virtual charter schools, and the State Department of Education must report each year on how virtual days were used (70 O.S. 1-109).

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

We found no state cold rule and no Oklahoma district’s cold number in our research. Our rule of thumb watches the wind chill from 5 to 9 a.m. and sets cold points of about −15°F in Tulsa, Norman and Lawton, and −16°F in Oklahoma City, Broken Arrow and Edmond. Each is the city’s normal December–February low, from 29.1°F to 30.3°F, minus 45 degrees.

The alert to watch is the Extreme Cold Warning, which means extremely dangerous cold or wind chills are expected or occurring (NWS cold alerts). It replaced the Wind Chill Warning on October 1, 2024 (National Weather Service), and each local office sets its own thresholds (NWS wind chill chart).

Who decides, and when do families hear?

Your district’s board decides whether to close. The State Board must agree in writing to any shorter school year, and a virtual day counts only after a governor’s proclamation and the board’s own approval (70 O.S. 1-109).

We did not find an Oklahoma district’s closing clock in our research, so check your district’s website, app or local news. The calculator reads snow and ice 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 Oklahoma

• Closing snow
  • Lawton half an inch
  • Norman 1.5 inches
  • Tulsa 2 inches
• Ice
  • About 0.08 to 0.1 inch
  • Ice Storm Warning raises the chance
• School year
  • 181 days or 1,086 hours
  • Shorter only with State Board OK
• Virtual days
  • 2 days or 12 hours at most
  • Approved plan
  • Governor’s proclamation
• Snowiest spots
  • Boise City 31.8 inches
  • Regnier 21.3 inches

Questions people ask

How many virtual days can Oklahoma schools use?

From 2026–27, at most 2 days or 12 hours a year can count, and only with a state-approved plan, a governor’s emergency proclamation and the school board’s approval of the day (70 O.S. 1-109).

How many days of school does Oklahoma require?

At least 181 days, or 1,086 hours under a school-hours policy reported to the State Board before October 15 (70 O.S. 1-109).

Do Oklahoma schools have to make up snow days?

We found no free weather days in the law, so a district has to reach its 181 days or 1,086 hours. A shorter year needs the State Board of Education’s written agreement (70 O.S. 1-109).

How much snow does it take to close school in Oklahoma City?

By our rule of thumb, about 2 inches overnight. Oklahoma City averages 6.2 inches of snow a year. Only the district decides, so check its website, app or local news.

Sources: 70 O.S. 1-109 (the school year and virtual days) and National Weather Service winter alerts.

Facts checked October 29, 2026.

Updated October 29, 2026