Snow Day Predictor Newfoundland and LabradorWill school be cancelled tomorrow in Newfoundland and Labrador?

Type your postal code or community name into the predictor at the top of this page to see tomorrow’s closure probability for your NLESD region (Avalon, Central, Western Newfoundland, Northern Peninsula, or Labrador). NLESD almost never closes the entire province at once — closure calls are issued by region, and the predictor returns the probability for your specific region rather than a province-wide average.

Snowmageddon refers to the January 17, 2020 blizzard that dropped 95 cm of snow on St. John’s in 24 hours with sustained 100+ km/h winds. The provincial state of emergency lasted eight days, the Canadian Armed Forces were deployed to clear streets, and NLESD schools across the Avalon Peninsula were closed for two weeks. It is the benchmark Newfoundland storm of the modern era and the reason our forecast weights wind speed and storm-surge risk so heavily on the Avalon.

NLESD has the highest operational weather tolerance of any Canadian school district. Newfoundlanders drive in storms that would shut down Ontario or Quebec, the school bus contractors are experienced with high-wind operations, and the population is geographically distributed in a way that makes blanket closures impractical. The result is that NLESD will routinely operate through 80 km/h winds and 15 cm of snow that would close every Maritime board. When NLESD does close, the conditions are extreme by national standards.

Enter your St. John’s postal code or "St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador" above. The predictor returns NLESD’s Avalon Peninsula closure probability for tomorrow morning, factoring in wind speed (the dominant variable in Newfoundland forecasts), snowfall, freezing rain, and storm-surge risk. The Avalon Peninsula sees more weather closures than any other NLESD region but still operates through conditions that would close most other Canadian districts.

Labrador and the Avalon Peninsula are essentially two different climate zones inside one school district. The Avalon is dominated by Atlantic storms, high winds, and freezing rain. Labrador Interior — Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City, Wabush — sees wind-chill values past −40 °C through January and February, with long periods of operational extreme cold rather than snowstorms. NLESD makes Labrador closure decisions on a wind-chill threshold; Avalon decisions are driven by wind speed and storm intensity.

Yes — Corner Brook, Stephenville, Deer Lake, and the rest of Western Newfoundland are fully supported. The forecast pulls hourly data at your exact coordinates, which matters in Western Newfoundland because the Long Range Mountains create lake-effect-like snowfall enhancement off the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A single band can drop 30+ cm on Corner Brook while Gander 200 km east sees little.

NLESD divides the province into operating regions — Avalon, Central, Western Newfoundland, Northern Peninsula, and Labrador — and issues closure decisions independently for each. Announcements go out through the NLESD website, the district’s social media channels, and local radio (VOCM, CBC Newfoundland and Labrador, and regional stations) typically between 6:00 and 7:00 am. Because there is only one English-language school district, there is no inter-district consortium to coordinate with — NLESD’s call is the official call for that region.

A nor’easter is a winter storm with strong northeasterly winds, typically tracking up the eastern seaboard of North America before passing over or south of Newfoundland. Because the storms draw moisture from the warmer Atlantic, they can deposit very heavy snow combined with hurricane-force winds across the Avalon Peninsula and the Bonavista coast. Nor’easters are the single most common cause of major NLESD closures and the storm type that produced Snowmageddon, the Easter 2017 storm, and the January 2018 St. John’s event.

Yes — Conseil scolaire francophone provincial (CSFP) schools in Labrador City, Cape St. George, and St. John’s are all covered. CSFP makes its closure calls independently of NLESD, but in practice the decisions track the same regional weather conditions because both districts operate from the same forecast. Our predictor returns a closure probability for the region containing your school; check the CSFP website for the official call.