What’s closed around the Midlands because of the weekend snow?
With the Midlands preparing to get five inches or more of snow this weekend, local businesses and agencies have started announcing closures because of the winter weather.
Winter Storm Gianna is expected to dump snow on Richland and Lexington counties throughout the day Saturday. And low temperatures this weekend could keep the white stuff from melting for a while.
If it snows, residents should avoid unnecessary travel and prepare for power outages by keeping cell phones and mobile devices fully charged, according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division. Have flashlights and extra batteries on hand.
Closures announced so far include:
- Richland 1 school district will close all schools Monday, shifting to e-Learning for students and a work-from-home day for staff. All activities scheduled for this weekend and Monday have been canceled.
- Lexington-Richland 5 school district has canceled all in-person classes Monday and will transition to e-Learning. All extracurricular events and after school childcare program are also cancelled Saturday through Monday.
- Lexington 2 school district will close all school campuses over the weekend and cancel all activities scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. A decision about class on Monday will be made mid-afternoon Sunday, the Cayce-West Columbia school district said in a post on its website.
- In-person classes, workshops and tutoring planned for Saturday at the University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus will be moved online.
- Lexington 4 school district will transition to e-Learning on Monday for all schools in the Gaston-Swansea area. All weekend activities and scheduled activities on Monday are also canceled.
- Richland 2 schools have canceled all events, activities and athletic competitions scheduled for Saturday.
- Kershaw County schools have canceled all weekend activities. Its teacher career fair planned for Saturday has been rescheduled to Feb. 21.
- Columbia city parks and recreation facilities will be closed Saturday and Sunday.
- The COMET bus system will be suspending routes Saturday for its fixed-route, DART and USC transit services. Services are running as scheduled for Friday.
- Richland County solid waste and recycling facilities will be closed Saturday. A decision about opening county offices on Monday will be made by 4 p.m. Sunday, the county said in a media release.
- Richland Library will close all of its locations on Saturday and Sunday.
- The Richland County Recreation Commission will close all facilities, athletic fields, the LinRick Golf Course, The Wellness Center, and the administration office on Saturday and Sunday.
- Soda City Market is canceled for Saturday.
- The Columbia Museum of Art will be closed on Saturday.
- The Lexington County landfill and solid waster collection sites will be closed Saturday
- All branches of the Lexington County library will be closed Saturday.
- The Lexington County Museum will be closed Saturday
- The S.C. State Museum will close Saturday and Sunday.
- The Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will also close Saturday and Sunday.
- Congaree National Park will close at 5 p.m. Friday and remain closed to visitors until safety assessments can be made and hazards cleared.
- All West Columbia city parks will close at dusk Friday and remain closed until further notice.
- Cayce city parks and the Cayce Historical Museum will close Friday through Sunday.
- Pawmetto Lifeline will close all of its programs on Saturday.
- The city of Sumter is closing all city parks and gardens Saturday and Sunday. City offices will open at noon Monday and sanitation services will operate on a delayed schedule. Curbside junk removal has been postponed to the week of Feb. 9.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 11:21 AM.
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Bristow Marchant
The State