For the film, see Snow Day.''

A snow day is a day on which school classes are cancelled or delayed due to snow or heavy ice. Sometimes the phrase 'snow day' is used for the cancellation of work in businesses as well. Similar measures may occur in response to heavy rain, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other forms of inclement weather. The criteria for enacting a snow day is primarily the result of the inability of vehicular transportation, as in the inability of school buses to make their routes. Usually secondary concerns are health issues that may arise by students being exposed to the cold weather.

Snow days, in some communities are very rare (often one or less occurring every year), usually due to infrequency of snow (the community need not be prepared) or extreme frequency of snow (the community is fully prepared and even large amounts of snow rarely present a serious problem). However, some communities build three to five snow days into their school year to stop children taking vacation early in the event of a heavy winter and the need to make up extra days of school.

Snow days, especially in areas like southern New England where snow days are relatively common, have a certain stigma attached to them. For students, this includes a feeling of relief (in cases where the student had been dreading a day of regular school). In addition to this, students usually are swept by a wave of euphoria, as a snow day in most cultures has become synonymous for a day of complete freedom where the student body can participate in common winter activities such as sledding and snowball fights. This euphoria often leads to frantic checking of the weather forecast the day before. For the administration, however, snow days have a negative connotation, as the entire day will usually have to be reworked into the schedule, and the necessary credit hours of the students for that day have not been fulfilled. As a result, some school districts remain in session when conditions clearly warrant a closure or delay.

Generally speaking, the closer to the equator the school district is, the more likely a relatively light snowfall (or merely the threat of a snowfall) will result in a snow day. For instance, schools in areas with heavy snowfall, such as upstate New York or Northern New England, rarely have snow days even after heavy snow fall, while Mid-Atlantic schools often close for snowfalls as little as a few inches. The explanation for this is that areas that receive heavy snowfall are more equipped to clear the snow and drive through the snow, while towns that receive less snow invest less in snow removal equipment and are populated by residents less experienced driving on snow or ice. When people move from northern cities to southern cities, they are often surprised at what justifies a snow day.

Snow | School terminology