Weather Explainers
By Chris Dolce
January 25, 2017
Incredible amounts of snow have fallen throughout parts of the mountain West in this month after a barrage of stormy weather. Taking the crown is the Sierra Nevada straddling the border between California and Nevada where some ski resorts received more than 20 feet of snow in just a little more than 20 days.
That got us thinking, what are some of the heaviest snowfall records in U.S. history? Below we have a look at a few of the known records including the heaviest monthly, seasonal, and 24-hour snowfall amounts.
(MORE: Snowiest Location in Every State)
Most Snow Measured in a Month: 390 Inches
Tamarack, California, holds the record for the most snow in a calendar month with 390 inches (32.5 feet) in January 1911. That is nearly twice the average snowfall during an entire winter in very snowyMarquette, Michigan, which averages about 204 inches annually.
Tamarack's location high in the Sierra Nevada make it an ideal location to intercept copious amounts of moisture provided by an active storm track off the Pacific Ocean, just like this month. The site of this record is at an elevation of 7,000 feet near where the Bear Valley Ski Resort is now,according to Christopher Burt of wunderground.com.
Greatest Seasonal Snowfall Total: 1,140 Inches
An amazing 1,140 inches (95 feet) was recorded at Mount Baker Ski Area (4,200 feet elevation) during the July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999, snow season.
For perspective, that snow total is equal to the height of nine to ten basketball goals stacked on top of each other or running the distance on a football field from the goal line to just past the 30-yard line.
Most Snow Measured in 24 Hours: 75.8 Inches
If you were 6 feet tall and standing outside for 24 hours in Silver Lake, Colorado, April 14-15, 1921, you would've been buried by snow from head to toe. That location recorded 6.3 feet of snow in a single day at an elevation of 10,220 feet in the Colorado Rockies.
In 1997, a report of 77 inches of snow measured in 24 hours in Montague, New York, was submitted for review by NOAA to see if the Silver Lake record was defeated. A committee reviewed the report and determined that the Silver Lake record should remain after finding that proper climatological guidelines were not used to measure the snow in Montague.
Most Snow in Two Days: 120.6 Inches
Thompson Pass, Alaska, holds the record for the most snow to fall in a two-day period, according to Burt. Just over 10 feet of snow was measured there Dec. 29-30, 1955.
Thompson Pass is located to the east of Valdez, Alaska, which is one of the snowiest cities in America.
Most Snow from a Single Storm: 189 Inches
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The old Mount Shasta Ski Bowl in northern California holds the record for the most snow received from a single storm system.
A total of 15.75 feet (189 inches) of snow was measured Feb. 13-19, 1959.
Mount Shasta is a volcano in the Cascade Mountain range and rises as high as 14,160 feet. It is the second highest of 15 main volcanoes in the Cascade range, according to the National Park Service.
Greatest Snow Depth on Record: 451 Inches
Tamarack, California, also holds the United States record for greatest snow depth ever measured. A maximum snow depth of 451 inches, or 37.5 feet, was recorded on March 11, 1911. The record monthly snowfall in January of that year helped contribute to the record depth.
Burt researched locations outside the United States and found that an even greater snow depth of 465.4 inches was measured Feb. 14, 1927, on Mount Ibuki in Japan (Honshu Island).
Most Snow Measured in One Hour: 12 Inches
Lake-effect snow events dominate the records books when it comes to extreme short-term snowfall amounts.
Burt compiled a list of the record snowfall rates in his book "Extreme Weather", and the top amount in a single hour was 12 inches in Copenhagen, New York, Dec. 2, 1966. That same location also picked up 6 inches in 30 minutes during the event.
(MORE:Great Lakes Amazing Snowfall Records)
