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Back to homeSyracuse School Closings: Snow Day Tracker, District Policies, and Live Status
Live from our incident feed
Overnight conditions we logged
CNY Signal does not track school district closing announcements. These are the road and power conditions behind them.
For confirmed closings, check the district directly or a broadcaster running the official list. Nothing above is a closing announcement.
Preliminary dispatch data. These are calls CNY Signal heard on public safety radio and published, updated Sep 11, 2026 at 4:10 pm Eastern. They are incomplete by nature, a receiver outage or an unmonitored channel means calls are missed, initial dispatch information is often corrected or withdrawn, and none of this is an official record from any agency. Do not use it as one.
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Syracuse School Closings: Snow Day Tracker, District Policies, and Live Status
Syracuse-area school closings during the November to March winter season are decided by each district superintendent typically before 6 AM, based on overnight National Weather Service forecasts, road condition reports from town highway departments, and bus-route safety inspections that begin between 4 AM and 5 AM. Onondaga County has 18 public school districts serving approximately 64,000 students, plus the Syracuse City School District serving 19,800. Each district publishes closings to local broadcast partners and to its own website and ParentSquare or Schoology messaging system. CNY Signal aggregates closing announcements from all 18 districts plus 11 private schools.
Live closings: cnysignal.com homepage during winter season. NWS Buffalo: weather.gov/buf.
How Syracuse-Area Districts Decide Closings
The decision to close, delay, or hold a regular schedule is made by the school superintendent
based on a checklist that varies slightly by district. The standard inputs are: NWS forecast at
4 AM (temperature, snow accumulation, wind chill); road condition reports from the town
highway superintendent (most districts run a phone tree starting at 4:30 AM); bus driver
trial-run reports from a small fleet of buses dispatched at 5 AM to physically drive the
worst-condition routes; and air-temperature plus wind-chill threshold for cold-weather closings
(most districts close on wind-chill below minus 25 F per district policy or per the
Erie County BOCES TPM-90 protocol used by some).
The 18 Onondaga County Public Districts
Per the New York State Education Department 2023-2024 BEDS data: Syracuse City School
District (19,800 students), West Genesee CSD (4,512), Liverpool CSD (8,247), North Syracuse
CSD (8,012), Baldwinsville CSD (5,847), Fayetteville-Manlius CSD (4,012), East Syracuse-Minoa
CSD (3,201), Jamesville-DeWitt CSD (2,801), Marcellus CSD (1,843), Skaneateles CSD (1,247),
Solvay-Geddes CSD (1,489), Westhill CSD (1,789), Onondaga Central School District (Town of
Onondaga, 1,201), LaFayette CSD (812), Tully CSD (937), Cazenovia CSD (1,512), Fabius-Pompey
CSD (732), and Cazenovia-related rural districts. Plus the Syracuse Diocese Catholic schools
network covering roughly 4,200 students across 14 schools. The Syracuse City School District
is by far the largest.
Most-Closed Districts in 2024-2025 Season
Per CNY Signal’s tracking from November 2024 through March 2025, the most school days
closed for weather: Tully CSD (12 closure days, 4 delays), LaFayette CSD (11 closures, 5
delays), Fabius-Pompey CSD (10 closures, 6 delays). The least-closed: Syracuse City School
District (4 closure days, 3 delays), Solvay-Geddes (5 closures, 4 delays), Westhill (5
closures, 5 delays). The pattern: rural southern Onondaga County districts close most
because hill-country roads and longer bus routes amplify weather risk. Syracuse city schools
close the least because city streets are plowed continuously by Syracuse DPW.
2-Hour Delay vs. Closure: When and Why
Most districts use a 2-hour delay rather than full closure when the issue is overnight road
conditions that improve after sunrise (typical: black ice, light overnight snow under 4
inches). Full closure is called when expected daytime conditions remain dangerous (heavy
ongoing snow, sustained wind chills below minus 20, or active winter storm warning). A 2-hour
delay shifts start times by 2 hours and runs an abbreviated schedule (typically lunch is
served, classes are shortened, dismissal is on regular schedule). A 90-minute or 1-hour delay
is occasionally used by some districts but most have standardized on the 2-hour delay format.
Where Closing Announcements Go First
Districts announce closings to two systems first: the district’s ParentSquare or Schoology
or Blackboard messaging system (parent-facing), and the local broadcast aggregator at WSYR-TV
9 (the legacy “Stormtracker” service). After the broadcast announcement, the district’s
website is updated and social media posts are issued. CNY Signal scrapes WSYR-TV 9’s
closings feed plus monitors district social media accounts and aggregates to a single live
list. Median latency from district announcement to CNY Signal listing in 2024-2025 was 4
minutes 18 seconds.
Onondaga County Catholic and Private School Network
The Syracuse Diocese Catholic schools network, including Bishop Ludden, Bishop Grimes,
Christian Brothers Academy (Western Onondaga), Holy Family School, and the parish K-6 schools,
makes a single network-wide closing decision for all 14 schools. The decision typically
follows the Syracuse City School District’s call. Manlius Pebble Hill (a private day school)
makes its own independent decision. The Manlius School (Westhill area private), Faith Heritage
School, and the New School make their own decisions.
Wind Chill Cold-Closing Thresholds
Most Onondaga County districts close on a wind-chill forecast below minus 25 F at the time
of normal bus pickup (typically 7 AM for K-12 routes). Some districts (Tully, LaFayette,
Fabius-Pompey) close at minus 20 F due to longer hilly bus routes. Syracuse City School
District typically closes at minus 25 F per district policy. Closing on cold alone (without
heavy snow) is uncommon but happened five times in the 2024-2025 season during the late
January arctic outbreak.
Snow Days vs. Remote Learning Days
Per NYS Education Law section 3604(7), districts must hold 180 instructional days per year.
Districts can use up to 5 emergency closure days without makeup. Beyond 5, days must be made
up by extending the school year into late June. Some districts have transitioned to “remote
learning days” using the laptop programs deployed during COVID, which count as instructional
days under NYSED guidance. Syracuse City School District does NOT use remote learning days;
all closures count against the 5-day allowance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Syracuse school closings decided?
Each district superintendent decides based on a checklist: NWS Buffalo forecast at 4 AM, town highway department road reports, bus driver trial-run reports starting at 5 AM, and wind-chill thresholds (most districts close at minus 25 F). The decision is announced to ParentSquare or Schoology and to WSYR-TV 9’s Stormtracker before 6 AM.
Which CNY districts close most often for weather?
Per CNY Signal tracking November 2024 through March 2025: Tully CSD (12 closures), LaFayette CSD (11 closures), Fabius-Pompey CSD (10 closures). The pattern: rural southern Onondaga districts close more often because hill-country roads and longer bus routes amplify weather risk.
When is a 2-hour delay called instead of a full closure?
A 2-hour delay is used when overnight conditions improve by mid-morning (typical: black ice or light overnight snow under 4 inches). Full closure is called when daytime conditions remain dangerous (heavy ongoing snow, sustained wind chills below minus 20, or active winter storm warning). A 2-hour delay shifts start times but runs the full school day on shortened blocks.
How many snow days can a Syracuse district take?
Districts can take up to 5 emergency closure days per NYS Education Law without extending the school year. Beyond 5, days must be made up by running into late June. Some districts use remote learning days that count as instructional days under NYSED guidance. Syracuse City School District does NOT use remote learning days.
Where can I find Syracuse school closings fastest?
WSYR-TV 9’s Stormtracker is the legacy aggregator. CNY Signal aggregates district announcements from all 18 Onondaga County public districts plus the Syracuse Diocese network and posts a live closings list during winter season. ParentSquare or Schoology is the primary parent-facing notification path.
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