{"id":108750,"date":"2026-02-08T23:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/108750\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T23:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T23:41:11","slug":"what-are-the-snowiest-cities-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/108750\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are the Snowiest Cities in the U.S.?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are the snowiest cities in the United States? Which city has the most snow each year? Take a guess and then look at this list of the top 10 cities that receive the most snowfall each\u00a0year!<\/p>\n

What Conditions Are Needed for\u00a0Snow?<\/p>\n

It may surprise you that the snowiest places in the United States aren\u2019t always the coldest places. (See the coldest cities in the U.S<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

There are several conditions needed for snow. Of course, it must be cold, specifically below freezing (32\u00b0F or 0\u00b0C) in the atmosphere and near the\u00a0ground.<\/p>\n

Additionally, warm, moist air must meet cold air, forcing it to lift over the frigid air mass. This is why there are often heavy snows near lakes or \u201clake effect\u201d snow: Frigid air blows across a warm body of water\u2014the warmer the air, the more moisture\u2014this allows storms to dump vast amounts of snow once the temperature\u00a0falls.<\/p>\n

One more condition for heavy snow is the position of the jet stream. When a warm, moist air mass from the south collides with an icy air mass from the north, and the temperature drops below freezing,\u00a0expect snow to\u00a0dump!<\/p>\n

\"huskyThe Snowiest of Them All: Mount Washington, NH<\/p>\n

While this list is focused on cities, we can\u2019t fail to mention Mount Washington, NH. The weather station, located on its summit, reports the most snowfall, with 283.5 inches per year!<\/p>\n

This substantial snowfall is partly due to Mount Washington\u2019s high prominence at the confluence of two major storm tracks and to the north-south orientation of the Presidential Range ridgeline, which it crowns. Mount Washington also holds the record as the windiest place in the United States (and ranks second in the world for\u00a0windiness).<\/p>\n

\"mount
\nThe famous Mount Washington Inn is a historic landmark.<\/p>\n

Determining the Top Snowiest\u00a0Cities<\/p>\n

NOTE: This list only looks at cities with at least 10,000 people. Otherwise, this would be a concise article of mostly Alaskan\u00a0towns!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Besides Mount Washington, many towns in the United States received impressive amounts of snow but didn\u2019t make the 10,000 population cutoff. The town with the most snow is Valdez, Alaska, with 279.4 inches per year on average. Another standout is Blue Canyon, CA, with a historical average of 241.7 inches per\u00a0year!\u00a0<\/p>\n

The list below is based on the average number of snowfall inches (including ice pellets and sleet) from the official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records since reporting began. The weather data comes from individual weather stations from all over the United\u00a0States.<\/p>\n

Notes: The accuracy of weather reporting is only as good as your local weather station\u2019s reports.\u00a0This list reflects historical data based on the weather station\u2019s period of record; beginning in April 1988, hail is also included under snowfall, which means that\u00a0some stations may show snowfall during the warm months.\u00a0See NOAA observed data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Top U.S. Snowiest\u00a0Cities1.\u00a0Sault Ste. Marie,\u00a0Michigan<\/p>\n

One of the oldest French settlements in North America, Sault Ste. Marie is near the river bank connecting Lake Huron and Lake Superior.\u00a0With lake effect snow, it\u2019s no surprise that it\u2019s one of the snowiest places in the United States. Sault Ste. Marie has received an average snowfall of 119.3 inches per\u00a0year.<\/p>\n

\"Sault<\/p>\n

2. Syracuse, New\u00a0York<\/p>\n

Upstate New York is certainly no stranger to snow. Syracuse has the highest annual snowfall, with 114.3 inches per year on average. Not far behind is Buffalo with 92 inches and Rochester with 89.3 inches. All are in the traditional lake effect snow belts, with cold winds from the west moving across the relatively warm Great\u00a0Lakes.<\/p>\n

\"Syracuse,
\nDowntown Syracuse in winter. Credit: Debra Millet\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

3. Juneau,\u00a0Alaska<\/p>\n

The capital of Alaska gets\u00a093.6 inches of snowfall per year. Other major Alaskan cities also bring the snow, including Anchorage (73.1 inches) and Fairbanks (64.8\u00a0inches).\u00a0<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re not included in populations below 10,000, take a glance at the average snowfall in some of these towns! Valdez, AK has a record of 279.4 inches per year! Yakutat, AK, received 162.1 inches of snow on average, and Talkeetna, AK, received 120.9\u00a0inches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Juneau,7. Flagstaff,\u00a0Arizona<\/p>\n

We head south to Flagstaff, AZ, where they receive an average of 87.6 inches of snow each winter. This popular mountain town is an exciting winter destination, with a myriad of outdoor sports complexes and hiking\/skiing\u00a0trails.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Arizona
\nPhoto Credit: BCFC\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Duluth, Minnesota\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Duluth is a port city on Lake Superior in Minnesota. Yep, it\u2019s that lake effect, again! Duluth\u00a0sits on the north shore of Lake Superior at the westernmost point of the Great Lake, and the city receives an annual snowfall of\u00a0 83.5 inches, on\u00a0average.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, there are many big snow cities in our northern tier state of Minnesota, including International Falls (64.8 inches), Minneapolis-St. Paul (49.9 inches), Rochester (45.6 inches), and Saint Cloud (45 inches).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Duluth,<\/p>\n

6. Erie,\u00a0Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Noticing a trend? Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie; it\u2019s the only port on the Great Lakes. This city is a very snowy place to live, with 80.9 inches on average. Its winters are moderately cold, with heavy lake effect\u00a0snow.<\/p>\n

\"cars<\/p>\n

7. Burlington,\u00a0Vermont<\/p>\n

Ah, snowy Vermont. The scenic town of Burlington is located in\u00a0northwestern Vermont, on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, south of the Canadian border. Locals say there\u2019s usually at least an\u00a0inch on the ground throughout winter, totaling 80.2 inches over their long, wintry\u00a0months.<\/p>\n

\"Burlington,
\nScenic Burlington, VT. Credit: LIXPIX\/Shutterstock\u00a0<\/p>\n

8. Muskegon,\u00a0Michigan<\/p>\n

A winter wonderland, Muskegon is situated between Lake Michigan to the west and Muskegon Lake to the north,\u00a0receiving heavy lake effect snow from Lake Michigan during winter time, totaling 79.3 inches annually. Midwesterners flock to Muskegon in the winter for luging, ice skating, and wintry fun. The state of Michigan has many snowy cities, including Grand Rapids (74.6 inches), Flint (49.9) and Detroit\u00a0(43).<\/p>\n

\"USS
\nUSS Silversides in winter, Muskegon<\/p>\n

9. Casper, Wyoming\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Winters are cold, snowy, and beautiful in Casper. At a mile high, it\u2019s unsurprising that Casper has snow\u2014about 77 inches per year, on average. In this case, it\u2019s more of a dry snow, not the moist lake effect snow that many other cities above receive. The more significant issue is probably the cold winter winds and the wind chill\u00a0factor.<\/p>\n

\"Casper,
\nLots of snow and drifts in Casper, Wyoming. Credit: Doug Tunison\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

10. Portland,\u00a0Maine<\/p>\n

Portland has cold, snowy, and often prolonged winters with 70 annual inches of snow, on average. It\u2019s not as high on this snow list as some of the far-northern U.S. cities because Portland is located along the coastline. Warmer ocean waters cause subfreezing air to erode, which can cause snow to transition to sleet or rain along the coast.<\/p>\n

While many small towns in Maine fall below our 10,000 population cut-off, the town with the most snow on average is Caribou, Maine, with a whopping 114.3 inches per year on\u00a0average.<\/p>\n

11. Worcester, Massachusetts (Honorable\u00a0Mention)<\/p>\n

Winters are particularly snowy in Worcester, which is located about 40 miles west of Boston. The city averages 66.8 inches of snow annually (while snowfall for Boston totals 43.8 inches).\u00a0 Located at a higher elevation than surrounding towns, Worcester is harder hit by\u00a0Nor\u2019easter storms and extreme blizzards as\u00a0warm, humid air from the southwest collides with cool, dry air from the\u00a0north.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Worcester,
\nSnowstorm in Worcester, Massachusetts. Credit: Ann Pics\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

What other U.S. cities get a lot of snow? Here are some other cities that didn\u2019t make the \u201ctop 11\u201d list, but they\u2019re definitely snowy!<\/p>\n

12. Elkins, WV (63 inches)
13. Concord, NH (65.2 inches)
14. South Bend, IN (62.5 inches)
15. Great Falls, MT (61.5 inches) and Billings, MT (59.3 inches)
16. Salt Lake City, UT (58.2 inches)
17. Denver, CO (57.2\u00a0inches)<\/p>\n

Check out our extended winter weather forecast for this\u00a0season!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What are the snowiest cities in the United States? Which city has the most snow each year? Take…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-108750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-erie","8":"tag-erie","9":"tag-erie-headlines","10":"tag-erie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}