Wakefield, Massachusetts, 3,365 students in 7 schools

Wakefield School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Wakefield get?

About 28.2 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 2.5 miles away, averaged over 8 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1.5 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Wakefield?

14.5 inches on January 26, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 2.5 miles away in 8 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 44.8 inches.

Q: How does the Wakefield snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Wakefield 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 Wakefield’s own big snow morning: 4.2 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 2.5 miles away.

Q: How far ahead does the Wakefield snow day predictor look?

Three school mornings, as far as the National Weather Service hourly forecast reaches. Weekends and breaks are skipped, so a Friday storm is read for Monday’s buses.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Wakefield, measured against Wakefield's own big snow morning of 4.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Wakefield close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Wakefield’s snow record

28.2inches of snow a winter

3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1.5with 4 in or more

4.2 ina big snow morning in Wakefield: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

0.6Nov

4.9Dec

9.5Jan

9.5Feb

2.7Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 14.5 in on January 26, 2026
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 44.8 in
6 in mornings 0.4 a winter
1 in mornings 4.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 2.5 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 Wakefield

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Lynnfield School DistrictLynnfield	28.2 in	1.5
Melrose School DistrictMelrose	28.2 in	1.5
Stoneham School DistrictStoneham	28.2 in	1.5
Saugus School DistrictSaugus	28.2 in	1.5
Reading School DistrictReading	44.2 in	2.1
Malden School DistrictMalden	28.2 in	1.5	5

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Wakefield Memorial High

Middle

Galvin Middle School

Elementary

Woodville School
Dolbeare
Greenwood
Walton

Other schools

Early Childhood Center at the Doyle School

Questions

Wakefield snow day questions

How much snow does Wakefield get?

What was the biggest snow day near Wakefield?

How does the Wakefield snow day predictor work?

How does Massachusetts handle snow days?

How far ahead does the Wakefield snow day predictor look?

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.