A Fairfax County Public School bus with snow on Jan. 6, 2025 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
A winter storm that could potentially hit the D.C. area tomorrow morning (Friday) has convinced Fairfax County Public Schools to give students a late start to the day.
All schools and central offices will open two hours late compared to their regularly scheduled start times tomorrow, FCPS announced, adding that a full closure is still possible depending on the actual weather conditions in the morning.
Morning preschool and special education classes have already been canceled, along with any morning field trips and bus service for high school academy classes that start before 12:45 p.m. School Age Child Care and Beyond the Bell centers, however, will open at 8 a.m.
“If there is a change, we will notify our staff and community as soon as possible,” FCPS said. “As always, please make sure that students are dressed warmly on their way to and from school.”
❄️ WEATHER ALERT FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2025
All Fairfax County public schools and central offices will open two hours late on Friday, December 5.
Details: https://t.co/zNBBMjWGwr pic.twitter.com/PTt1crDed6
— Fairfax Schools 🌟 (@fcpsnews) December 5, 2025
The full alert is below:
All FCPS schools and central offices will open two hours late Friday, December 5. This means all schools will begin two hours after their regularly scheduled start times.
Because of the uncertainty of the forecast, FCPS will monitor the weather and reevaluate in the morning if we need to adjust to a closure. If there is a change, we will notify our staff and community as soon as possible.
As always, please make sure that students are dressed warmly on their way to and from school.
Central and school office 12-month employees must report to work in person no later than 10 a.m. In accordance with Regulation 4417, telework-eligible employees may telework or take unscheduled leave. Please check in with your supervisor to report your status. Central offices will open to the public at 10 a.m.
The following in schools and on school grounds are canceled or delayed:
- Morning preschool and special education classes are canceled.
- Full-day preschool, special education, and Early Head Start/PreK classes start two hours later than the regular schedule.
- Morning field trips are canceled.
- Morning transportation for high school academy classes is canceled. Transportation will be provided for academy classes that start after 12:45 p.m.
- Adult High School and GED courses will start two hours later than the regular schedule.
- Homebound instruction will begin at 10 a.m.
- School Age Child Care (SACC) and Beyond the Bell (BTB) centers will open at 8 a.m. Afternoon preschool classes start on their regular schedule and Adult and Community Education (ACE) classes will start on time.
Storm could create hazardous commute
National Weather Service’s forecast for possible snow in the D.C. region on Dec. 4-7, 2025 (via Fairfax County Emergency Information)
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the region currently scheduled to take effect from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Nearly an inch of snow accumulation is possible, as temperatures will dip into the 20s overnight, according to the NWS, which also issued an alert warning of potentially hazardous conditions for commuters. The federal agency is giving a 30 to 50% chance of “light snow” at the moment.
“If this threat does materialize during the Friday morning rush hour, many roads could quickly turn icy,” the NWS said. “This could lead to dangerous traveling conditions, multiple accidents, and extensive delays.”
More from the commuting hazard alert:
If commuting Friday morning, be aware of the POSSIBILITY of significant travel disruptions. Plan ahead by allowing for extra travel time, and consider using public transportation and telework options.
In addition, light snow or freezing drizzle accumulations may also impact the evening commute as the storm system is slow to depart late Friday afternoon and evening.
The wintry weather could also affect evening commutes, since temperatures are expected to stay below freezing throughout the day, Fairfax County said on its emergency information blog.
The county advises working from home if that’s an option and using public transportation if travel is required.
In a change from last winter, Metro announced that, in the wake of its recent bus system overhaul, it will now provide weather-related updates for specific routes, rather than adopting overall service levels buses. Status updates will be posted on a new webpage.
“We want to put buses back on the road as soon as it is safe to do so,” Metro Chief Operations Officer Leroy Jones said in a press release. “Our new snow service restoration plan allows for greater flexibility and responsiveness to local road conditions and better service for customers.”
