Snow Day Predictor for Idaho

Browse snow day predictions for all 30 cities in Idaho. Select your city to check tomorrow's school closure forecast.

Every city below links to its own live snow day forecast for Idaho. Find your city in the alphabetical list and click it to check today's snowfall probability and school closure forecast.

About Idaho

Idaho sits in the Mountain West, bordered by Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, Washington and Oregon to the west, and the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. It became the 43rd state on July 3, 1890, and is now home to just over 2 million people, one of the fastest-growing populations in the country according to the Census Bureau. Idaho's economy runs on potatoes, computer chips, and mountains. It grows roughly a third of the nation's potatoes, more than any other state, and Boise anchors a growing tech sector built around Micron Technology's chip plants. The nickname Gem State comes from Idaho's mining history, its official state gem, the star garnet, is mined commercially in only one other place on Earth, India. Winters split sharply, with dry high desert valleys and mountains buried in snow. That split is what makes Idaho's snow day predictions genuinely complicated. A storm that barely dusts Boise can simultaneously strand a mountain pass 200 miles north. Predicting closures here means tracking two different climates at once, one shaped by high desert dryness, the other by some of the heaviest snowfall totals in the Rockies.

Idaho Snow Day Climate and School Closures

How Idaho's Climate Affects Snow Days

Idaho's snowfall splits by elevation and latitude. Boise averages about 17.6 inches a year on the Snake River Plain, while McCall in the mountains averages 132 inches and Sandpoint in the Panhandle averages 62 inches. Pocatello, in higher eastern Idaho, averages 63.6 inches, more than triple Boise's total despite being farther south.

In the winter of 1968-69, Sandpoint recorded 82 inches of snow by late January, with drifts reaching 12 feet in town and 20 feet in the Selle Valley, closing area schools for weeks. (Sandpoint Magazine)

What Causes School Closures in Idaho

Idaho closures split by geography. In the Panhandle and mountains, heavy snow near Lake Pend Oreille and avalanche-prone corridors like US-12 and ID-21 near Idaho City shut roads. On the Snake River Plain, dry high-desert cold turns light snow into black ice, closing Boise and Twin Falls schools more often than snow depth does.

Explore Snow Day Predictions Across Idaho

Idaho has 30 cities covered by the Snow Day Predictor. Predictions are updated hourly using real-time weather data from Open-Meteo.

Popular Cities to Check in Idaho

Boise. Boise, the capital and Idaho's largest city, sits on the Snake River Plain and averages just 17.6 inches of snow a year, a fraction of what falls in Idaho's northern mountains and Panhandle.

McCall. McCall, a mountain resort town on Payette Lake, averages 132 inches of snow a year, among the heaviest totals in Idaho, and hosts the annual Winter Carnival built around its snowpack.

Ketchum. Ketchum, next to Sun Valley Resort, averages about 102 inches of snow a year. Sun Valley opened in 1936 as the nation's first destination ski resort, built on nearby Bald Mountain's steep terrain.

Sandpoint. Sandpoint, in the Panhandle on Lake Pend Oreille, averages 62 inches of snow a year. Nearby Schweitzer Mountain Resort, one of Idaho's largest ski areas, averages about 300 inches annually at higher elevation.

Pocatello. Pocatello, home to Idaho State University, sits at 4,462 feet in elevation, higher than Boise or Twin Falls, which helps explain why eastern Idaho's winters run colder and snowier than southwestern Idaho.

Twin Falls. Twin Falls, on the Snake River Plain in south-central Idaho, averages 24.2 inches of snow a year and sits near Shoshone Falls, a landscape shaped more by desert canyon than mountain winter.

Frequently Asked Questions About Snow Days in Idaho

Does it snow a lot in Idaho?

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It depends on elevation more than anything else. Idaho's mountain corridors and Panhandle resort towns pile up feet of snow each winter, while the Snake River Plain sits in a high desert rain shadow. Lewiston, at Idaho's lowest elevation where the Snake and Clearwater rivers meet, has some of the mildest winters in the state.

What actually closes Idaho schools in winter?

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It's rarely just snow depth. In the mountains and Panhandle, avalanche-prone corridors like State Highway 21 near Banner Summit have been buried under slides more than 40 feet deep, cutting off mountain communities entirely. On the Snake River Plain, routine snow can glaze into black ice overnight because of the region's dry, high-desert cold, and that ice, not the snowfall total, is what keeps buses parked most mornings.

Why does Boise see so much less snow than northern Idaho?

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Boise sits on the Snake River Plain at a relatively low elevation, shielded from the wettest Pacific storm tracks by mountain ranges to the west. Northern Idaho's Panhandle sits closer to moisture-rich systems moving in from the Pacific Northwest and gains elevation quickly near Schweitzer Mountain and Lake Pend Oreille, which is why Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry see triple or quadruple Boise's yearly total.

Does Idaho's snowpack matter beyond school closures?

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Idaho's mountain snowpack, not just daily storms, determines summer water supply for the state's farms, so state agencies track it as closely as they track storm forecasts. A low snow year in the Panhandle mountains, like the near-record-low snowpack reported in early 2024, can mean water shortages the following summer even if winter itself brought few school closures.

Does Idaho ever close schools for cold temperatures alone?

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Yes. Eastern Idaho, especially the higher-elevation areas around Idaho Falls and Pocatello, regularly sees subzero wind chills in January, and individual school districts set their own cold-weather thresholds for delays or closures. That's separate from snow-day decisions on the Panhandle or in the mountains, where the storm itself, not the thermometer, usually drives the call.

Where can I check real-time winter road conditions in Idaho?

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The Idaho Transportation Department runs 511.idaho.gov, which shows real-time road conditions, closures, and traffic cameras statewide, including mountain passes like Banner Summit and Lolo Pass that close often in winter. The Idaho Office of Emergency Management and local county sheriff's offices also issue alerts during major storms. Checking 511 before a mountain drive in December or January is standard practice for Idaho commuters.