When snow begins to fall, New Yorkers ask one question — how bad will it get? — and New York theatergoers ask three more:

Will the shows be canceled?

Will shows offer a snow day discount?

What if I can’t make it to a show that hasn’t been canceled?

Here are some general answers:

1. How bad will it be?

Check online at the National Weather Service and/or Weather.com. The National Weather Service, a government agency, also has a good Twitter feed specifically for information about the New York region, @NWSNewYorkNY.

2. Will the shows be canceled

In general, it is rare for The Broadway League to announce the cancellation of shows on the Great White Way. However, for two Januarys in a row — in 2015 and 2016 – Broadway was shut down completely for a day because of a blizzard. In 2015, it was a false alarm — there wasn’t that much snow — but the governor had shut down the subway system, so the League was worried about both theatergoers and casts making it to and from the shows. In 2016, there was more than TWO FEET of snow.

The best way to track cancellations of individual New York shows is to check their Twitter feeds or their websites.  Theater news sites (such as this one) also keep up on the latest information.

Times Square, January 23, 2016 at 1:30 p.m.

Broadway, January 23, 2016, at 4 p.m.

Times Square, January 27, 2015

Times Square during Hercules snowstorm, January 3, 2014

Losing Nemo: The Times Square theater district on February 9, 2013, after the “blizzard”

Broadway during a blizzard in 2000

Broadway during the blizzard of 1978. It was definitely insane out there, but that sign is from the advertising slogan from an electronics retail chain called Crazy Eddie: “Our prices are insane.”

Will shows offer a snow day discount?

Sometimes they do; sometimes they don’t. The best way to check this out is on Twitter. The shows themselves Tweet about it, and enterprising Tweeters (such as myself) often post their offers using a hashtag like #SnowDayDiscount. (Broadway shows are unlikely to advertise their snow day discounts on their websites. ) I have seen several hit shows, with impossible-t0-get-tickets, for steep discounts because I braved the elements to get there, when many ticket-holders didn’t show up.  (No, this did not include Hamilton.)

What if I can’t make it to a show for which I have tickets?
For information about refunds and exchanges, please contact the point of purchase. Here is the list that I compiled in 2016. (If these do not work for the tickets you have, please contact the theater’s box office directly):
Telecharge: 212-239-6210 or 800-543-4835 or online at telecharge.com
Ticketmaster: 877-250-2929 or Ticketmaster.com)
Disney on Broadway: 866-870-2717
Roundabout Theatre: 212-719-1300