List of snowiest places in the United States by state

The List of snowiest places in the United States by state shows average annual snowfall totals for the period mid-1985 to mid-2015. Only places in the official climate database of the National Weather Service, a service of NOAA, are included in this list. Some ski resorts and unofficial weather stations report higher amounts of snowfall than places on this list. Official weather stations are usually located in populated places and snowfall statistics for isolated and unpopulated areas are often not recorded.

Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker in Washington are the snowiest places in the United States which have weather stations, receiving 645 inches (1,640 cm) annually on average. By comparison, the populated place with the highest snowfall in the world is believed to be Sukayu Onsen in the Siberian-facing Japanese Alps. Sukayu Onsen receives 694.5 inches (1,764 cm) (nearly 58 feet) of snow annually. Nearby mountain slopes may receive even more.[1]

The amount of snow received at weather stations varies substantially from year to year. For example, the annual snowfall at Paradise Ranger Station in Mount Rainier National Park has been as little as 266 inches (680 cm) in 2014-2015 and as much as 1,122 inches (2,850 cm) in 1971-1972.[2]

Mount Rainier.

Skiing Mount Washington.

A Chicago snowstorm.

Clearing a highway after a heavy snowfall in Oregon.

A blizzard at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

Snow on Mauna Kea. Hawaii.

Weather stations with highest snowfall in the United States by state, 1985-2015

State	Place	Average annual snowfall[3]	elevation[4]	coordinates[5]	Other snowy areas (limited or unofficial data) and notes
1. Washington	Mt. Rainier	645.5 inches (1,640 cm)	5,430 feet (1,660 m)	46.79°N 121.73°W	Mt. Baker, 645 inches (1,640 cm) annually.[6]
2. Utah	Alta	456.9 inches (1,161 cm)	8,730 feet (2,660 m)	40.60°N 111.64°W	Brighton Ski Resort, 411.1 inches (1,044 cm) annually.[7]
3. Oregon	Crater Lake	453.4 inches (1,152 cm)	6,470 feet (1,970 m)	42.90°N 122.13°W	Timberline Lodge Ski Area, 551 inches (1,400 cm) annually.[8]
4. California	Soda Springs	411.6 inches (1045 cm)[9]	6,885 feet (2,099 m)	39.32°N 120.38°W	Sugar Bowl Ski Resort 2.5 miles east of Soda Springs, 500 inches (1,300 cm) annually.[10] Lake Helen at Mount Lassen[11] and Kalmia Lake in the Trinity Alps are estimated to receive 600-700 inches of snow per year.
5. Alaska	Valdez	314.1 inches (798 cm)	95 feet (29 m)	61.13°N 146.35°W	Alyeska Resort, 669 inches (1,700 cm) annually.[12]
6. New Hampshire	Mt. Washington	282.1 inches (717 cm)	6,270 feet (1,910 m)	44.27°N 71.30°W	Elevation of weather station.
7. Colorado	Climax	273.8 inches (695 cm)	11,350 feet (3,460 m)	39.37°N 106.19°W	Wolf Creek Pass Ski Area. 387 inches (980 cm) annually.[13]
8. Wyoming	Burgess Junction	257.8 inches (655 cm)	8,050 feet (2,450 m)	44.77°N 107.52°W	Grand Targhee Resort, 500 inches (1,300 cm) annually. [14]
9. New York	High Market (West Turin)	214.2 inches (544 cm)	1,816 feet (554 m)	43.35°N 75.25°W	Syracuse named snowiest city in U.S., 123.8 inches (314 cm) annually. [15]
10. Michigan	Herman	214 inches (540 cm)	1,667 feet (508 m)	46.67°N 88.37°W
11. Vermont	Mt. Mansfield	211.9 inches (538 cm)	3,866 feet (1,178 m)	44.53°N 72.82°W	Elevation of weather station.
12. Idaho	Island Park	211.8 inches (538 cm)	6,298 feet (1,920 m)	44.42°N 111.37°W	Lookout Pass, 400 inches (1,000 cm) annually.[16]
13. South Dakota	near Lead	195.9 inches (498 cm)	6,120 feet (1,870 m)	44.24°N 103.80°W
14. Montana	Mystic Lake	184.3 inches (468 cm)	6,560 feet (2,000 m)	45.24°N 109.73°W	Cooke City, 200.7 inches (510 cm) annually.[17] Higher totals common at Big Sky.
15. West Virginia	Terra Alta	175.0 inches (444 cm)	2,582 feet (787 m)	39.45°N 79.55°W
16. Wisconsin	Hurley	162.2 inches (412 cm)	1,500 feet (460 m)	46.45°N 90.19°W
17. New Mexico	Red River	151.1 inches (384 cm)	8,661 feet (2,640 m)	36.71°N 105.41°W	Taos Ski Valley, 300 inches (760 cm)[18]
18. Maine	Eustis	123.8 inches (314 cm)	1,163 feet (354 m)	45.14°N 70.44°W
19. Arizona	Bright Angel Ranger Station	118.4 inches (301 cm)	8,320 feet (2,540 m)	36.21°N 112.06°W
20. Nevada	Wild Horse Reservoir	118.2 inches (300 cm)	6,265 feet (1,910 m)	41.67°N 115.80°W
21. Maryland	Oakland	105.9 inches (8.83 ft)	2,408 feet (734 m)	39.41°N 79.41°W
22. Ohio	Chardon	109.2 inches (277 cm)	1,291 feet (393 m)	41.58°N 81.20°W
23. Pennsylvania	Erie	103.0 inches (262 cm)	650 feet (200 m)	42.13°N 80.08°W
24. North Carolina	Mt. Mitchell	91 inches (230 cm)	6,684 feet (2,037 m)	35.76°N 82.27°W
25. Minnesota	Duluth	86.5 inches (220 cm)	651 feet (198 m)	46.79°N 42.10°W
26. Tennessee	Mt. Le Conte	82.9 inches (211 cm)	6,345 feet (1,934 m)	35.66°N 83.44°W
27. Connecticut	Norfolk	77 inches (200 cm)	1,167 feet (356 m)	41.99°N 73.20°W
28. Massachusetts	Ashburnham	75.1 inches (191 cm)	1,028 feet (313 m)	42.64°N 71.91°W
29. Indiana	South Bend	66.8 inches (170 cm)	752 feet (229 m)	41.68°N 86.25°W
30. Rhode Island	North Foster	60.4 inches (153 cm)	707 feet (215 m)	41.85°N 71.76°W
31. Virginia	Wise	52.7 inches (134 cm)	2,436 feet (742 m)	36.98°N 82.58°W
32. North Dakota	Fargo	51.6 inches (131 cm)	903 feet (275 m)	46.88°N 96.79°W
33. Nebraska	Harrisburg	46.5 inches (118 cm)	4,492 feet (1,369 m)	41.56°N 103.74°W
34. Iowa	Dubuque	42.5 inches (108 cm)	708 feet (216 m)	42.50°N 90.66°W
35. New Jersey	Sussex	41.2 inches (105 cm)	500 feet (150 m)	46.21°N 74.61°W
36. Illinois	Chicago	38.5 inches (98 cm)	858 feet (262 m)	41.88°N 87.63°W
37. Kansas	McDonald	37.6 inches (96 cm)	3,364 feet (1,025 m)	39.78°N 101.37°W
38. Kentucky	Closplint	31.7 inches (81 cm)	1,551 feet (473 m)	36.90°N 83.07°W
39. Oklahoma	Boise City	30.8 inches (78 cm)	4,175 feet (1,273 m)	36.73°N 102.51°W
40. Missouri	Edina	22.0 inches (56 cm)	795 feet (242 m)	40.17°N 92.17°W
41. Delaware	Wilmington	21.9 inches (56 cm)	114 feet (35 m)	39.24°N 75.55°W
42. Texas	Stratford	20.2 inches (51 cm)	3,699 feet (1,127 m)	36.34°N 102.07°W
43. Arkansas	Gravette	16.0 inches (41 cm)	1,211 feet (369 m)	36.42°N 94.95°W
44. South Carolina	Caesars Head	7.2 inches (18 cm)	3,180 feet (970 m)	35.11°N 82.63°W	Elevation of weather station
45. Alabama	Valley Head	6.1 inches (15 cm)	1,043 feet (318 m)	34.56°N 85.61°W
46. Georgia	Dallas	3.8 inches (9.7 cm)	994 feet (303 m)	33.93°N 84.84°W	Highest peaks in Appalachian Mountains get ca. 35 inches (89 cm) annually.[19]
47. Mississippi	Hickory Flat	2.9 inches (7.4 cm)	435 feet (133 m)	34.62°N 89.19°W
48. Louisiana	Shreveport	0.8 inches (2.0 cm)	225 feet (69 m)	32.51°N 93.75°W
49. Florida	Milton	0.2 inches (0.51 cm)	9 feet (2.7 m)	30.63°N 87.04°W
50. Hawaii	--	0.0 inches (0 cm)	--	--	Occasional snow above 6,200 feet (1,900 m) elevation.[20]

References

1. , accessed 27 Apr 2019
2. "National Park Service," , accessed 27 Apr 2019
3. "The snowiest place in each state," The Weather Channel, , accessed 23 Apr 2019.
4. Google Earth
5. Google Earth
6. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
7. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
8. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
9. "Soda Springs," , accessed 14 Jul 2020.
10. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
11. McLaughlin, Mark. "Weather Window: The snowiest spot in California is Lake Helen near Lassen Volcanic National Park". www.sierrasun.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
12. , accessed 27 Apr 2019
13. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
14. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
15. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
16. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
17. , accessed 26 Apr 2019
18. Taos Ski Valley," , accessed 26 Apr 2019
19. , accessed 27 Apr 2019
20. , 27 Apr 2019