The chance snow, ice or cold cancels buses or closes schools in Hamilton on the next school morning, from the latest forecast
Loading the forecast for Hamilton…
An estimate from the forecast, not a promise.
Looks like a regular school day. Check again if the forecast changes.
🧪 Test weather, not the real forecast
In much of Canada, school buses can be cancelled while schools stay open. This is a weather estimate, not an official bus cancellation; check your school board or bus service.
Opens a web search in a new tab. Only your school board can say for sure.
Days 3–5 are an early outlook and may change. School holidays aren’t known.
7 am temperature: —
No snow or ice expected overnight
Overnight window: 6 pm – 8 am before school.
The calculator at the top is set to Hamilton. It reads the city’s hourly forecast from 6 pm to 8 am and scores overnight snow, freezing rain, cold at 7 am and strong gusts, giving a chance from 1% to 99%. Hamilton is unusual: its two English-language school boards share one bus service but follow different rules when buses are cancelled, so the same stormy morning can mean a closed school for one family and an open one for another. Only the boards decide.
Local weather
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1981–2010 climate normals for the Hamilton airport station, about 11 km southwest of downtown and 237.7 m above sea level, give the long-term picture:
| Average snowfall per year | 156.5 cm |
|---|---|
| Snowiest month | January, 40.8 cm |
| Days with 5 cm or more of snowfall | 9.2 a year |
| Coldest month (daily average) | January, −5.5°C |
Hamilton gets less snow than Barrie or Ottawa (about 223 cm each) and has the mildest January of the five cities on this site, but its winters aren’t gentle: the station averages 54.2 days a year with some snowfall and 54.0 days with at least 5 cm on the ground. The station sits at the airport, so conditions in other parts of the city can differ from its record.
Who decides
Both boards use Hamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services (HWSTS) for buses. What happens to schools when the buses stop is where they differ. French-language schools have their own boards.
The public board. Its inclement weather page states the HWDSB rule: “Severe weather + Bus cancellation = Schools and Administrative Buildings are closed.” When it cancels busing for weather, it has deemed the roads unsafe. HWDSB announces cancellations by 6 a.m., and families get an email by then if there’s a closure. It adds that families can always make the choice they feel is best.
The Catholic board. Its snow days page describes three outcomes: schools open and buses running; schools open and buses not running, with parents deciding whether to send their children; or schools closed and buses not running. If schools close, teachers post learning materials online by 10:00 a.m.
Buses
This page predicts the weather, not official cancellations. Its percentage doesn’t change by board: a likely bus cancellation means a likely closure for HWDSB schools, but HWCDSB schools may stay open.
Method
It uses the published snow day formula for the next school morning on Hamilton’s clock:
Results stay between 1% and 99%. These are first estimates, not measured against real Hamilton cancellations, so the accuracy is unknown. The points were first set for US school districts. HWCDSB schools can stay open when buses are cancelled (HWDSB closes them), so read a high % as rough snow-day weather, not a sure closure.
FAQ
That’s decided early in the morning: HWDSB announces by 6 a.m. and HWCDSB by 6:30 a.m. The calculator above estimates the chance from the latest Hamilton forecast; check it the evening before and again before 6 a.m.
It depends on the board. For HWDSB, yes: its rule is that severe weather plus a bus cancellation closes schools and administrative buildings. HWCDSB schools can stay open when buses are cancelled, with parents deciding whether to send their children.
On the HWSTS website, hamiltonschoolbus.ca, and by each board: HWDSB emails families by 6 a.m. when schools close, and HWCDSB posts on its website, social media and local media by 6:30 a.m.
Hamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services (HWSTS) handles buses for both HWDSB and HWCDSB. Its carriers start checking weather and roads as early as 4 a.m. on bad-weather mornings.
About 157 cm a year on average (156.5 cm), with January the snowiest month at 40.8 cm, at the Hamilton A station in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1981–2010 climate normals.
No. This site isn’t connected to HWDSB, HWCDSB, HWSTS or any weather service. It’s an estimate; only the boards announce closures.