The chance snow, ice or cold disrupts school in Kitchener on the next school morning, from the latest forecast
Loading the forecast for Kitchener…
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 above is set to Kitchener. It reads the hourly forecast for the city between 6 pm and 8 am before the next school morning and turns overnight snow, freezing rain, cold and wind into a chance from 1% to 99%. In Waterloo Region, buses can be cancelled while schools stay open, and that call is made each morning by the transportation consortium and the two school boards together.
Local weather
The nearest station with full 1981–2010 climate normals from Environment and Climate Change Canada is Waterloo Wellington A, about 10 km east of downtown Kitchener:
| Average snowfall per year | 159.7 cm |
|---|---|
| Snowiest month | January, 43.7 cm |
| Days with 5 cm or more of snowfall | 9.6 a year |
| Coldest month (daily average) | January, −6.5°C |
That puts Kitchener between Toronto (121.5 cm a year in the same normals) and Barrie (223.0 cm). Snow also stays: the station averages 59.8 days a year with at least 5 cm on the ground.
Two things matter as much as the snowfall total. First, the rural townships: the Waterloo Catholic board’s inclement weather procedure notes that weather in the Region’s townships can differ from the cities, so buses are sometimes cancelled in Wilmot, Wellesley and Woolwich (sometimes also North Dumfries) and not in Kitchener. Second, deep cold: both boards stop buses on frigid mornings even when no snow falls.
Who decides
Kitchener’s English-language public and Catholic schools are run by two boards, and their buses by one consortium they set up together, Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR). French-language schools have their own boards.
The public board. Its severe weather page says decisions are made with STSWR and the Catholic board, that cancelled buses don’t by themselves close schools, and that “if nothing is posted on our website or social media channels by 6 a.m., it is a regular school day.” Families who think it’s unsafe can keep a child home and call the attendance line, with no penalty.
The Catholic board. Under its inclement weather procedure, STSWR’s general manager assesses conditions before 5:30 a.m. and confers with the Director of Education on any cancellation or closure. Its delays and cancellations page sends families to STSWR and lists local radio stations that carry the news.
Buses
This page predicts the weather, not official cancellations. Its snow formula uses the air temperature, not wind chill; for the −35°C question, the Cold & Ice Day Calculator scores wind chill at bus time.
Method
It uses the published snow day formula for the next school morning in Kitchener’s time zone, with metric results:
The points are first estimates, not checked against real Waterloo Region cancellations, so the accuracy is unknown. The points were first set for US school districts. In Waterloo Region, buses can be cancelled while schools stay open, so read a high % as rough snow-day weather, not a sure closure.
FAQ
Only the boards and STSWR can say; WRDSB says that if nothing is posted by 6 a.m., it’s a regular school day. The calculator above gives the chance from the newest forecast; check it the night before and early in the morning.
Yes, unless that’s considered unsafe: WRDSB says cancelled buses don’t by themselves close schools, and WCDSB’s procedure keeps schools open when buses stop for frigid cold. A full closure is announced separately.
On the STSWR website, stswr.ca, its Parent Portal and its Facebook and Instagram pages, and through local media. The boards post closures on their own websites and social media.
Both boards call a wind chill of −35°C or colder “frigid”. When it’s forecast for 7 a.m., buses don’t run, but schools stay open.
About 160 cm a year on average (159.7 cm), with January the snowiest month at 43.7 cm, at the Waterloo Wellington A station in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1981–2010 climate normals.
No. It isn’t affiliated with WRDSB, WCDSB, STSWR or any weather service. Treat the percentage as an estimate and rely on their announcements.