Snow Day Predictor for Missouri

Browse snow day predictions for all 72 cities in Missouri. Select your city to check tomorrow's school closure forecast.

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

About Missouri

Missouri sits at the crossroads of the Midwest and the South, bordered by Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee across the Mississippi River to the east, Arkansas to the south, and Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma to the west. It became the 24th state on August 10, 1821. Roughly 6.27 million people call it home, per the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimate. The state's economy runs on agriculture, aerospace, and beer: Missouri ranks among the top soybean and corn producers nationally, Boeing builds fighter jets in St. Louis, and Anheuser-Busch has brewed there since 1852. Kansas City claims more fountains than Rome and a barbecue tradition that rivals Texas. Between the two metro areas lies the Ozark Plateau, a region of hardwood forest and spring-fed rivers far removed from either skyline. That geographic split defines Missouri's winters as much as its culture. A clipper system that dumps eight inches on Kansas City can turn to sleet and freezing drizzle by the Bootheel, leaving superintendents in Sikeston guessing while St. Louis plows are already out. County road crews carry wildly different equipment budgets, so predicting a snow day here means watching more than one storm track at once.

Missouri Snow Day Climate and School Closures

How Missouri's Climate Affects Snow Days

NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals put Kansas City's average annual snowfall at 18.2 inches and St. Louis at 16.6 inches, while Springfield in the Ozarks sees just 13.7 inches. Push further south into the Bootheel near Poplar Bluff and totals drop below six inches most winters, a gradient closer to Memphis than Chicago.

A statewide ice storm struck Missouri January 12-16, 2007, coating power lines with up to two inches of ice, killing 15 people, leaving more than 323,000 customers without electricity, and prompting a federal disaster declaration. (Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA))

What Causes School Closures in Missouri

Missouri sits in ice storm alley, where warm Gulf moisture rides over shallow cold air at the surface, turning snow into freezing rain that glazes power lines and roads. Districts weigh downed limbs and black ice over snow depth. Bootheel crews built for tornadoes own little snow gear, so light accumulation shuts schools fast.

Explore Snow Day Predictions Across Missouri

Missouri has 72 cities covered by the Snow Day Predictor. Predictions are updated hourly using real-time weather data from Open-Meteo.

Popular Cities to Check in Missouri

Kansas City. Kansas City, Missouri's largest city at roughly 510,000 people, sits on rolling bluffs above the Missouri River. Its hilly streets mean black ice, not snow depth, drives most bus cancellations across the metro.

St. Louis. St. Louis, home to the Gateway Arch and roughly 2.8 million metro residents, straddles the Mississippi River. Freezing rain off the river closes schools more often than its 16.6-inch average yearly snow.

Springfield. Springfield, the self-styled Queen City of the Ozarks and Missouri's third-largest city, sits in hill country where ice clings to steep roads. Rural Greene County districts often close before city schools, since gravel routes freeze first.

Jefferson City. Jefferson City, the state capital with about 43,000 residents, sits on river bluffs between St. Louis and Kansas City. Legislative session traffic makes early snow calls politically sensitive, since lawmakers and lobbyists both need clear roads.

Columbia. Columbia, home to the University of Missouri and about 130,000 residents, sits almost exactly between St. Louis and Kansas City. A campus decision to close Mizzou can ripple through Boone County's schools within the hour.

Sikeston. Sikeston, in the flat Bootheel near the Arkansas and Tennessee lines, averages under six inches of snow a year, closer to Memphis than St. Louis. Road crews built for tornadoes own few salt trucks or plows.

Frequently Asked Questions About Snow Days in Missouri

How do Missouri school districts decide when to call a snow day?

−
Missouri has no statewide snow-day mandate; each of the state's roughly 500 districts sets its own threshold through local school board policy. Superintendents typically confer with county road departments and law enforcement by 5 a.m., weighing bus-route ice reports over official snow totals, then post decisions through district apps, local TV affiliates, and the Missouri School Boards Association's closing wire.

Does Missouri require schools to make up snow days?

+
Yes, though the rules changed recently. Missouri's Senate Bill 727 requires a 169-day calendar and 1,044 instructional hours a year, and districts can cover up to 36 hours of that through Alternative Methods of Instruction, or AMI, days when snow closes buildings. Once a district burns through its AMI hours, the next storm forces an in-person makeup day, often eating into spring break or pushing graduation later.

Why do rural Missouri districts have less room to absorb snow days than city districts?

+
Roughly a third of Missouri's public school districts, about 91 percent of them rural, already run four-day weeks to cut transportation and staffing costs. That compressed calendar leaves almost no slack for snow days; one bad ice storm can force these districts to add Fridays or push the last day of school back further than five-day districts ever face.

Why do Missouri snow forecasts often change right up until the last minute?

+
Missouri sits at the collision point of southern warm fronts and Canadian cold fronts, with no mountains or coastline to steer either one. Models routinely disagree on whether a system tracks 50 miles north or south, which flips a county from six inches of snow to a half-inch of freezing rain. Forecasters at the state's three NWS offices often cannot lock in a call until six to twelve hours out.

Do Missouri schools ever close for extreme cold alone, without snow?

+
Yes. Districts cancel or delay for dangerous wind chill even on clear days, since Missouri's temperature swings run to extremes: the state's official record low is -40 degrees F, set at Warsaw on February 13, 1905, and single-digit wind chills still arrive most winters. Bus diesel gels, brakes stick, and kids waiting at unheated rural stops face more risk than the snow itself.

What snowfall or ice amount triggers an official winter storm warning in Missouri?

+
The NWS St. Louis office issues a Winter Storm Warning at 5 inches or more of snow, or an Ice Storm Warning once freezing rain hits a quarter inch, since that's the point ice starts snapping power lines and tree limbs. A Winter Weather Advisory kicks in earlier, at just 3 to 4 inches of snow, giving districts a lower-stakes heads-up before the warning stage.