Snow Day: What does it take to get a day off school in Boise?

BOISE, Idaho — Winter weather is on the way for the Treasure Valley. As we pull out snow shovels, snowboards, and skis in anticipation of the white stuff falling from the sky, kids are already busy wondering if and when they will get a "snow day" this school year.

While the snow forecasted this week looks far from significant enough to cause any closures, it's worth taking a look at how the Boise Independent School District decides to call a "snow day" for its students.

When it comes to calling a district-wide closure, there are certain factors taken into account before making the announcement every kid hopes to hear.

In making their determination, The Boise Independent School District takes three meteorological elements into consideration: snow, cold, and ice.

- Snow: While normal snowfall can cause delays due to increased traffic and accidents, it rarely causes a closure. Snowfall totals must be well above normal precipitation totals and most often— continue throughout the day to cause a full-day school closure. "Normal snowfalls would not result in school closures," states the Boise Independent School District website.

- Cold: Cold tends to factor into school closures more often than snow in Boise. That's because Boise often experiences a handful of extremely cold days and cold has the potential to do serious harm to students who rely on walking or biking to school. In addition to that, freezing temperatures can result in buses not starting in the morning, which is often the reason behind delays announced by the district on particularly cold days.

- Ice: The most dangerous winter condition in the Treasure Valley, ice has the potential to make roads and sidewalks impassable. Even if there is no snow on the ground, ice alone can force the district to issue a total school closure.

Many times, it takes a significant combination of the three factors above to force a school closure.