Lake Washington School Closings Today — Live Status (Washington)

Are Lake Washington schools closed today? Check live status below — updated every 10 minutes.

Live status monitored for Lake Washington School District (LWSD), Northshore School District (NSD), Bellevue School District (BSD), Issaquah School District (ISD), and Riverview School District (RSD).

How Lake Washington School District Announces Closures

Lake Washington School District (LWSD) posts closure, delay, and early-dismissal decisions to its official website at lwsd.org as soon as a decision is made. Families enrolled in the district also receive direct notifications through ParentSquare, the district’s primary messaging platform, via app notification, text, and email. On mornings with questionable weather — most often snow, ice, or high winds on the Eastside’s hillier streets — the district targets a decision and public announcement by roughly 5:30 AM local time so families can plan around bus routes and childcare; when a storm is forecast well in advance, LWSD sometimes announces a closure or a remote/asynchronous day the evening before instead.

Local television stations are a secondary channel worth checking directly if you haven’t heard from the district yet: KING 5, KOMO 4, and KIRO 7 all maintain running closures pages during active weather events, and FOX 13 covers closures as part of its morning weather segments. Because a school’s own site and ParentSquare are typically first to update, this page checks all of these sources together so you don’t have to visit each one separately.

Weather Risks That Can Close Lake Washington-Area Schools

• Snow and ice: Even a light accumulation on the Eastside’s hilly, tree-lined streets can make bus routes unsafe, since the region has far less snow-clearing and de-icing equipment than colder climates. Freezing rain and black ice on overnight-refrozen roads are often more disruptive than the snow itself.
• Windstorms: Fall and winter windstorms off the Pacific can down trees and power lines across King County, sometimes knocking out electricity or heat to school buildings well before roads themselves are affected.
• Flooding: Heavy or sustained rain, especially from atmospheric-river systems, can flood low-lying roads and creek crossings in the Sammamish and Bear Creek valleys, disrupting bus routes even when schools themselves stay open.
• Dense fog: Thick valley and lake fog can reduce visibility enough to delay morning bus routes, particularly in low-lying areas near Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish.
• Wildfire smoke: In late summer, smoke drifting in from wildfires east of the Cascades can push air quality into unhealthy ranges, occasionally prompting schools to move recess and athletics indoors or, in severe cases, adjust schedules.
• Extreme cold snaps: Rare Arctic outflow events can drop temperatures well below the regional norm, occasionally causing heating or facilities issues in older school buildings.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early does Lake Washington School District announce school closures?

LWSD targets a decision and public announcement by around 5:30 AM on the day of a closure or delay. When a storm is forecast well in advance, the district sometimes announces the evening before instead, giving families more time to plan.

What’s the difference between a closure and a delayed start for LWSD?

A closure means no school for students district-wide that day. A delayed start (most commonly a two-hour delay) means school opens later than usual with a shortened schedule, but the district still meets that day — buses run on a delayed pickup schedule, and after-school activities generally proceed as planned unless separately cancelled.

Do all Lake Washington School District schools close at the same time?

Yes. Closures, delays, and early dismissals in LWSD are decided at the district level and apply to all schools at once, rather than school-by-school. Individual schools do not independently decide to close.

Which Seattle-area TV stations report Lake Washington school closings?

KING 5, KOMO 4, and KIRO 7 are the primary Seattle-market TV stations reporting Lake Washington-area school closings, alongside FOX 13. This page automatically monitors these stations alongside official district websites, so you get the fastest available detection without visiting multiple sources.

How often is this page updated?

Status checks run automatically every 15 minutes, or every 5 minutes during active weather alerts, pulling directly from district and news sources.

Does Lake Washington School District ever hold remote-learning snow days instead of closing?

Districts across King County have used remote or asynchronous learning days for some weather closures in past years rather than a traditional no-school day. Always check the official LWSD announcement itself, since the format of a given closure (traditional snow day vs. remote day) can vary storm to storm.

Lake Washington School District — Full School Roster

High Schools

• Eastlake High School
• Emerson High School
• Emerson K-12
• International Community School
• Juanita High School
• Lake Washington High School
• Redmond High School
• Tesla STEM High School
• WANIC (Washington Network for Innovative Careers)

Middle Schools

• Environmental & Adventure School
• Evergreen Middle School
• Finn Hill Middle School
• Inglewood Middle School
• Kamiakin Middle School
• Kirkland Middle School
• Northstar Middle School
• Redmond Middle School
• Renaissance School of Art & Reasoning
• Rose Hill Middle School
• Stella Schola Middle School
• Timberline Middle School

Elementary Schools

• Alcott Elementary
• Audubon Elementary
• Bell Elementary
• Blackwell Elementary
• Carson Elementary
• Clara Barton Elementary
• Community School
• Dickinson Elementary
• Discovery Community School
• Einstein Elementary
• Ella Baker Elementary
• Explorer Community School
• Franklin Elementary
• Frost Elementary
• Juanita Elementary
• Keller Elementary
• Kirk Elementary
• Lakeview Elementary
• Mann Elementary
• McAuliffe Elementary
• Mead Elementary
• Muir Elementary
• Redmond Elementary
• Rockwell Elementary
• Rosa Parks Elementary
• Rose Hill Elementary
• Rush Elementary
• Sandburg Elementary
• Smith Elementary
• Thoreau Elementary
• Twain Elementary
• Wilder Elementary