Columbia School Closings Today — Live Status & Delays (South Carolina)

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Please enable JavaScript in your browser, then reload this page to see current closure and delay information for Richland One and surrounding Columbia-area districts. In the meantime, check directly: Richland One (richlandone.org), WIS News 10, or WLTX News 19.

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Live status monitored for Richland County School District One, Richland School District Two, Lexington County School District One, and Lexington-Richland School District Five.

How Columbia School Closures Are Announced

Richland County School District One, the largest district serving the city of Columbia, posts closure and delay decisions on its official site at richlandone.org. According to the district’s published severe weather procedures, the superintendent typically makes the call by around 5:45 a.m. on the day in question, though in some cases the decision is announced the evening before. Families are notified through the district’s automated phone, email and text alert system.

Neighboring Columbia-area districts — Richland Two (richland2.org), Lexington One (lexington1.net), and Lexington-Richland Five (lexrich5.org) — follow similar same-morning decision timelines and post updates to their own sites and family notification systems, which sometimes means one Midlands district closes or delays while a neighboring district stays open. Local TV stations amplify these announcements quickly: WIS News 10 (NBC) posts closings at wistv.com/weather/closings, and WLTX News 19 (CBS) maintains a closings page at wltx.com/closings.

Weather Risks That Can Close Columbia-Area Schools

Ice storms and winter freezes: Even a light glaze of ice on Midlands roads and overpasses can make bus routes unsafe, since the region has little of the de-icing equipment common farther north.
Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes: Columbia sits in an active severe weather corridor; strong thunderstorm complexes and tornado warnings can prompt shelter-in-place or early dismissal decisions.
Tropical storm remnants: Although Columbia is inland, the remnants of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms have brought damaging wind and flooding rain to the Midlands, occasionally triggering closures.
Flash flooding: Heavy rainfall on already-saturated ground can flood low-lying roads around Columbia, affecting bus routes even without a named storm.
Extreme heat: Late-summer heat advisories can affect outdoor activities and, in schools without full air conditioning in older buildings, may factor into early dismissal decisions.
Dense fog: Morning fog along the Congaree and Broad River valleys can occasionally delay bus routes for visibility reasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early does Richland One announce school closures?

Richland One’s published severe weather procedures state that the superintendent makes the call on whether to run a normal schedule, delay, or cancel school by roughly 5:45 a.m. on the day in question, after district officials review road conditions and consult with transportation staff and local emergency management. In some cases, especially with well-forecast storms, the decision is made and announced the evening before.

What’s the difference between a closure and a delay in Richland One?

A closure cancels school entirely for the day, while a delay pushes back the start of the school day (commonly by one or two hours) to allow more time for roads and bus routes to clear or for a storm to pass. Bus pickup times shift by the same amount as the delay, and the district communicates the exact adjusted schedule through its notification system when a delay is called.

Do all Columbia-area districts close at the same time?

Not always. Richland One, Richland Two, Lexington One, and Lexington-Richland Five each make independent decisions based on road conditions across their own attendance areas, so it’s common for one district to close or delay while a neighboring district stays open, particularly for localized ice or flooding. This page monitors all four districts separately so you can check your specific district’s status.

Which local TV stations report Columbia school closings?

WIS News 10 (NBC), WLTX News 19 (CBS), and WACH Fox 57 are the main Columbia-market TV stations that report school closings and delays, typically as part of their morning weather coverage during active storms. This page automatically monitors all three stations alongside the districts’ own websites.

How often is this page updated?

Status checks run automatically every 15 minutes under normal conditions, and every 5 minutes during active weather alerts, pulling from district websites, TV station reports, and National Weather Service data for Richland County.

Why do Columbia schools sometimes close for a small amount of snow or ice?

Because significant winter weather is infrequent in the Midlands, the region has comparatively little salt, sand, or plow equipment on hand, and many residents have limited experience driving on ice. As a result, even a thin glaze of ice — which might barely register in a snowier state — can make hilly or shaded roads treacherous enough that districts choose to close or delay rather than risk bus travel.

Richland County School District One Schools

High Schools

A.C. Flora High School
C.A. Johnson High School
Columbia High School
Dreher High School
Eau Claire High School
Lower Richland High School
W.J. Keenan High School

Middle Schools

Alcorn Middle School
Crayton Middle School
Gibbes Middle School
Hand Middle School
Hopkins Middle School
Southeast Middle School
St. Andrews Middle School
W.A. Perry Middle School
W.G. Sanders Middle School

Elementary Schools

Richland One operates approximately 29 elementary schools; the list below reflects schools confirmed from official and public data sources. Verify the complete current list at richlandone.org.