Lowell School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How many snow days does Lowell have built in?

5 for the 2026 to 2027 school year, listed on the calendar as “Snow Days”.

Q: When is the last day of school for Lowell?

June 16, 2027, on the district’s 2026 to 2027 calendar.

Q: How much snow does Lowell get?

About 44.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 6 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 2.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Lowell?

20.6 inches on March 14, 2018, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2017 to 2018, with 71.9 inches.

Q: Does Lowell get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

Lowell averages 2.5 weekday mornings a winter with 4 inches of new snow or more, more than 76 percent of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

Q: How does the Lowell snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Lowell 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 Lowell’s own big snow morning: 10.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.7 miles away.

The next three school mornings

Will Lowell close tomorrow?

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

The Lowell playbook

How Lowell calls a snow day

5 built in snow days

On the 2026 to 2027 calendar, listed as “Snow Days”.

“185th School Day [Includes five (5) Snow Days]”

Source

Making up a lost day

Snow days push the year past the June 16 180th day, up to the 185th day on June 24.

“180th School Day - Early Release for grades K-12 on Last Day of School (No School PK)”

Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

First day September 2, 2026
Winter break Dec 24 to Jan 1
February break Feb 15 to Feb 19
Last day June 16, 2027

District calendar

Read from Lowell’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is lowell.k12.ma.us.

Ten winters of school mornings

Lowell’s snow record

44.8inches of snow a winter

6school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

2.5with 4 in or more

10.8 ina big snow morning in Lowell: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

3school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 76% of the 291 Massachusetts districts with a station record.

0.9Nov

6.1Dec

13.1Jan

14.6Feb

9.6Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 20.6 in on March 14, 2018
Snowiest winter 2017 to 2018, 71.9 in
6 in mornings 1.5 a winter
1 in mornings 8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.7 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 Massachusetts rule

How Massachusetts counts a lost day

Massachusetts requires a 185 day calendar, at least 180 days actually held, and 900 hours for elementary or 990 hours for secondary students. Every day lost through March 31 is made up with full rescheduled days; after March 31, days are made up until 180 or the scheduled 185th day, whichever comes first.

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

Next door

Districts near Lowell

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Dracut School DistrictDracut	44.8 in	2.5
Chelmsford School DistrictChelmsford	44.8 in	2.5	6
Tewksbury School DistrictTewksbury	44.2 in	2.1
Tyngsborough School DistrictTyngsborough	44.8 in	2.5
Billerica School DistrictBillerica	44.2 in	2.1
Methuen School DistrictMethuen	37.5 in	1.9	5

The schools

27 schools

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

High

Lowell High
The Career Academy
Leblanc Therapeutic Day School

Middle

James S Daley Middle School
Dr An Wang School
Kathryn P. Stoklosa Middle School
James Sullivan Middle School
Henry J Robinson Middle
B.F. Butler Middle School
Laura Lee Therapeutic Day School

Elementary

Rogers STEM Academy
Abraham Lincoln
S Christa McAuliffe Elementary
Bartlett Community Partnership
Charles W Morey
John J Shaughnessy
Pyne Arts
Peter W Reilly
Greenhalge
Pawtucketville Memorial
Dr Gertrude Bailey
Charlotte M Murkland Elementary
Joseph McAvinnue
Moody Elementary
Washington

Other schools

Cardinal O'Connell Early Learning Center
Dr. Janice Adie Day School, Chelmsford

Questions

Lowell snow day questions

How many snow days does Lowell have built in?

When is the last day of school for Lowell?

How much snow does Lowell get?

What was the biggest snow day near Lowell?

Does Lowell get more snow days than other Massachusetts districts?

How does the Lowell snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

More winter

More for Massachusetts 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.Massachusetts winter forecastThe season ahead for Massachusetts: 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.