Garden City, New York, 3,964 students in 7 schools

Garden City Union Free School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Garden City get?

About 13.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away, averaged over 7 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.7 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 1 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Garden City?

23 inches on February 23, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 46.6 inches.

Q: How does the Garden City snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Garden City 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 Garden City’s own big snow morning: 10.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 8.2 miles away.

Q: Can New York schools hold a remote day instead?

A district that would otherwise close for a storm may stay in session remotely under its emergency remote instruction plan, and that day counts toward the 180 days and the hours; districts are not required to do it.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Garden City, measured against Garden City's own big snow morning of 10.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Garden City close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Garden City’s snow record

13.8inches of snow a winter

1.7school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

1with 4 in or more

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

0Nov

2.1Dec

3.7Jan

7.9Feb

0Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 23 in on February 23, 2026
Snowiest winter 2025 to 2026, 46.6 in
6 in mornings 0.6 a winter
1 in mornings 2 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 8.2 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 New York rule

How New York counts a lost day

New York requires 180 days of session plus 900 hours a year for kindergarten to grade 6 and 990 hours for grades 7 to 12. The Commissioner can excuse up to 5 days closed for extraordinary weather, but only if the district cannot make them up by using all its scheduled vacation days before the June Regents exams.

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

Next door

Districts near Garden City

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Franklin Square Union Free School DistrictFranklin Square	21.3 in	0.9
Mineola Union Free School DistrictMineola	21.3 in	0.9
Hempstead Union Free School DistrictHempstead	13.8 in	1
West Hempstead Union Free School DistrictWest Hempstead	21.3 in	0.9
Sewanhaka Central High School DistrictFloral Park	21.3 in	0.9
Herricks Union Free School DistrictNew Hyde Park	12 in	0.7

The schools

7 schools

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

High

Garden City High School

Middle

Garden City Middle School

Elementary

Stewart School
Stratford Avenue School
Homestead School
Hemlock School
Locust School

Questions

Garden City snow day questions

How much snow does Garden City get?

What was the biggest snow day near Garden City?

How does the Garden City snow day predictor work?

How does New York handle snow days?

Can New York schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

More for New York 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.New York winter forecastThe season ahead for New York: 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.