Post Falls School District 273 Snow Day Predictor

Q: When does Post Falls call a snow day?

Post Falls announces closings announced by 5:30AM, by its own published protocol.

Q: How does Post Falls announce a snow day?

By radio, local TV, text message and social media, and on the district’s own closings page.

Q: How long is a delayed start in Post Falls?

2 hours: on a delay morning every school starts that much later.

Q: When is the last day of school for Post Falls?

June 17, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Post Falls get?

About 22.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 7.6 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.9 with 4 inches or more.

Q: How does the Post Falls snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Post Falls through the night and the 5 to 8 am bus run, adds winter alerts and the Winter Storm Severity Index, and measures the snow against Post Falls’s own big snow morning: 3.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 7.6 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will Post Falls close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Post Falls.

The Post Falls playbook

How Post Falls calls a snow day

When the call comes

Announced by 5:30AM.

“The decision to keep school open, close, or delay the start by 2 hours is announced by 5:30AM.”

Source

How families hear

By radio, local TV, text message and social media.

“The district provides information to KXLY, KVNI, KCDA, KISS, KDRK radio and KREM-2, KXLY-4 AND KHQ-6 television stations. The district will also use the SchoolMessenger notification system to notify parents who have opted in to receive text messages.”

Inclement weather

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“School will be in session and buses will run their regular routes as on a normal school day – just 2 hours later.”

Delay schedule

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day September 8, 2026
Winter break Dec 18 to Jan 1
Last day June 17, 2027

District calendar

The board policy

“The Superintendent considers the safety of students and employees when making the decision whether to conduct school, close, or enact a 2-hour late start.”

Board policy

Read from Post Falls’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is pfsd.com.

Ten winters of school mornings

Post Falls’s snow record

22.8inches of snow a winter

3.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.9with 4 in or more

3.8 ina big snow morning in Post Falls: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.6school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

0.3Nov

5.6Dec

5.1Jan

9.5Feb

1.5Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10 in on February 4, 2017
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 51.8 in
6 in mornings 0.1 a winter
1 in mornings 5.9 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 7.6 miles away. Mornings are the 7 am snow reading on a weekday from December 1 through March 31, over the ten winters from 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026, from NOAA GHCN Daily.

The Idaho rule

How Idaho counts a lost day

Idaho requires at least 990 instructional hours for grades 9 to 12, 900 for grades 4 to 8, 810 for grades 1 to 3 and 450 for kindergarten. With local board approval, up to 11 hours of emergency closures for bad weather or facility failures can come off the yearly hours requirement.

The Idaho rules in the agency’s own words, and every Idaho district

Next door

Districts near Post Falls

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Coeur d'Alene School District 271Coeur D'alene	22.8 in	0.9	2
Lakeland Joint School District 272Rathdrum	22.8 in	0.9
Lake Pend Oreille School District 84Ponderay	73.7 in	3.3
Lewiston Independent School District 340Lewiston	17.1 in	0.8
Middleton School District 134Middleton	14.8 in	0.4
Caldwell School District 132Caldwell	14.1 in	0.9

The schools

12 schools

Every school in Post Falls follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Post Falls High School
New Vision High School

Middle

Post Falls Middle School
River City Middle School

Elementary

Ponderosa Elementary School
Treaty Rock Elementary
West Ridge Elementary School
Seltice Elementary School
Greensferry Elementary School
Mullan Trail Elementary School
Prairie View Elementary

Other schools

Frederick Post Kinder Center

Questions

Post Falls snow day questions

When does Post Falls call a snow day?

How does Post Falls announce a snow day?

How long is a delayed start in Post Falls?

When is the last day of school for Post Falls?

How much snow does Post Falls get?

How does the Post Falls snow day predictor work?

How does Idaho handle snow days?

More winter

More for Idaho snow days

Snow day predictorClosing and delay odds for any ZIP, with the snowiest districts in the country.Snow depth mapHow much snow is on the ground right now, measured, across the country.First snow datesWhen the first measurable snow usually lands where you live.Frozen pipesThe nights cold enough to freeze a pipe, and what to do before one.Snow plow trackerWhere the plows are during a storm, city by city.Idaho winter forecastThe season ahead for Idaho: snowfall, cold and the first snow.

A residential street under deep snow on a bright blue morning, cars parked along the curb buried into smooth white mounds, one set of tire tracks down the middle — The morning after a big one: cars buried to the mirrors and one set of tracks down the middle. A street like this is a closing, no debate. Photo, Fairfax, Virginia, January 2016: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY 4.0

The odds are a forecast read, and the superintendent makes the call: the district’s own announcement is the one to follow.