Hempstead, New York, 6,343 students in 8 schools

Hempstead Union Free School District Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Hempstead get?

About 13.8 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 6.5 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 Hempstead?

23 inches on February 23, 2026, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 6.5 miles away in 7 winters. The snowiest winter was 2025 to 2026, with 46.6 inches.

Q: How does the Hempstead snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Hempstead 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 Hempstead’s own big snow morning: 10.8 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 6.5 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 Hempstead, measured against Hempstead's own big snow morning of 10.8 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Hempstead close tomorrow?

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

Ten winters of school mornings

Hempstead’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 Hempstead: 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 6.5 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 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 Hempstead

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings
Garden City Union Free School DistrictGarden City	13.8 in	1
West Hempstead Union Free School DistrictWest Hempstead	21.3 in	0.9
Uniondale Union Free School DistrictUniondale	13.8 in	1
Roosevelt Union Free School DistrictRoosevelt	13.8 in	1
Franklin Square Union Free School DistrictFranklin Square	21.3 in	0.9
Rockville Centre Union Free School DistrictRockville Centre	13.8 in	1

The schools

8 schools

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

High

Hempstead High School

Middle

Alverta B Gray Schultz Middle School

Elementary

Rhodes Academy of Humanities and the Arts
Barack Obama Elementary School
Jackson Main Elementary School
David Paterson School
Joseph McNeil School

Other schools

Prospect Elementary School

Questions

Hempstead snow day questions

How much snow does Hempstead get?

What was the biggest snow day near Hempstead?

How does the Hempstead 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.