Post by LuLu on Feb 25, 2013 23:56:05 GMT -5
What Was the Deepest Snow in Your State?
1. California: 451 inches
A tall mountain range downwind of a huge ocean makes a snow magnet. Tamarack, on the west slopes of the Sierra Nevada, holds the U.S. snow depth record of 451 inches set March 11, 1911.
2. Washington: 367 inches
For snow-lovers, Paradise Ranger Station in Mount Rainier National Park is aptly named. It had 367 inches of snow on the ground March 9-10, 1956.
3. Nevada: 271 inches
Near what is now the junction of U.S. 50 and Nevada Highway 28 west of Carson City, Spooners Station measured 271 inches of snow on Mar. 12-13, 1911.
4. Oregon: 252 inches
Exactly 21 feet of snow smothered the headquarters at Crater Lake National Park on April 3, 1983.
5. Colorado: 251 inches
A whopping 251 inches of snow were measured just east of Wolf Creek Pass on U.S. Highway 160 on March 31, 1979.
6. Alaska: 192 inches
Valdez averages 326 inches of snowfall annually per year, more than any other U.S. city. Due to compacting, the state snow depth record set there is 'only' 192 inches, or 16 feet, on March 7 and April 11, 2008.
7. Idaho: 182 inches
Mullan Pass, also known as Lookout Pass, on the Idaho-Montana border along present-day Interstate 90, was buried under 182 inches of snow on Feb. 20 and 22, 1954
8. Utah: 179 inches
The official Utah record is 179 inches at Alta, in the Wasatch Range near Salt Lake City, on April 5 and 7, 1958.
9. New Hampshire: 164 inches
Pinkham Notch, near Mount Washington, recorded 13 feet, 8 inches of snow cover on Feb. 27, 1969.
10. Vermont: 149 inches
Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield, also had the state's deepest snowpack ever recorded, 149 inches on April 2, 1969.
11. Montana: 147 inches
NCDC credits 'Summit', an observation site near Marias Pass on U.S. Highway 2 in Glacier National Park, as the Montana record holder with 147 inches of snow cover on Feb. 18, 1975
12. Wyoming: 128 inches
Over 10 feet of snow sat on the ground at Grassy Lake Dam in northwest Wyoming on Feb. 4, 1943.
13. New York: 119 inches
Whiteface Mountain, in the Adirondacks, piled up 119 inches of snow by April 20, 1943. Image: Lake Erie buried the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga in heavy lake-effect snow on Dec. 2, 2010.
14. Michigan: 117 inches
Lake-effect snow routinely buries northern Michigan. On the Keweenaw Peninsula, Eagle Harbor sat under 117 inches of snow from Jan. 27-31, 1948
15. New Mexico: 96 inches
The now-defunct Lee Ranch had 96 inches of snow cover on Mar. 15, 1941. The site is better known now as Valle Grande, within the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos.
16. Arizonia: 91 inches
Hawley Lake sits on the Mogollon Rim, 8,200 feet above sea level. That's how this spot halfway between Phoenix and Albuquerque piled up 91 inches of snow by Dec. 21, 1967.
17. Minnesota: 88 inches
The small farming town of Meadowlands, northwest of Duluth, had 88 inches of snow cover for the entire week of Feb. 15-21, 1969.
18. Maine: 84 inches
The west-central Maine town of Farmington was buried under seven feet of snow by Feb. 28, 1969
19. Wisconsin: 83 inches
Spring did not come early for northern Wisconsin in 1933. A record 83 inches of snow was on the ground at the Flambeau Reservoir on April 6 that year
20. South Dakota: 73 inches
An epic 5-day blizzard in 1998 dumped 103 inches of snow in the Black Hills city of Lead. Compression and settling meant the official snow depth maxed out at 73 inches on March 1, setting a state record.
21. North Dakota: 65 inches
On the wide open plains of southeast North Dakota, Berlin logged 65 inches of snow cover on March 12, 1897.
22. Tennessee: 63 inches
Mount Le Conte, in Smoky Mountain National Park, recorded 63 inches of snow depth on March 14-15, 1993,
23. Massachusetts: 62 inches
Appropriately, the 'greatest' snow depth in Massachusetts was in Great Barrington on Jan. 13, 1996, with 62 inches.
24. West Virginia: 62 inches
Snowshoe, one of West Virginia's best-known ski resorts, had 62 inches of snow on the ground March 8, 1978 - undoubtedly this official record excludes man-made snow. Image: Snow blankets Morgantown during Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 30, 2012.
25. Pennsylvania: 60 inches
Five feet of snow covered the ground in the small Poconos village of Gouldsboro on Mar. 22-23, 1958.
26. Connecticut: 55 inches
The same storm that gave New Jersey its record did the same for Connecticut, with 55 inches on the ground near Norfolk on Feb. 5, 1961.
27. Maryland: 54 inches
Maryland is another state whose snow-cover record dates to the '93 Superstorm. Frostburg, in western Maryland, had 54 inches on the ground Mar. 15, 1993.
28. Iowa: 52 inches
Lake Park, in northwest Iowa, holds the state record with 52 inches on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1, 1969, but the state climatologist is investigating 'issues' with this record.
29. New Jersey: 52 inches
On Feb. 5, 1961, 52 inches of snow sat on the ground around Canistear Reservoir in Vernon Twp., Sussex County.
30. North Carolina: 50 inches
The highest peak in the eastern U.S., Mount Mitchell, had 50 inches on March 14, 1993, after the '93 Superstorm struck. It also had a 50-inch depth in March 1942.
31. Indiana: 47 inches
On the southern end of Lake Michigan, Hammond had 47 inches of snow cover on Jan. 28, 1918.
32. Ohio: 47 inches
Northeast Ohio is infamous for lake-effect snow from Lake Erie. That's where the state record snow depth of 47 inches occurred in Chardon on Nov. 14, 1996.
33. Virginian: 47 inches
Virginia's deepest snow occurred when the Blizzard of '96 left behind a 47-inch snowpack at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park on Jan. 7, 1996.
34. Nebraska: 44 inches
Ironically, Nebraska's snow depth record dates to the Dust Bowl, when Fremont had 44 inches of snow cover on Feb. 16, 1936.
35. Rhode Island: 41 inches
After the Blizzard of '78, a record 42 inches of snow were on the ground on Feb. 7, 1978 near North Foster in western Providence County.
36: Illinois: 41 inches
Gebhard Woods State Park, on the Illinois River near Morris, had 41 inches of snow cover on Jan. 31, 1979. Astoria, in western Illinois.
37. Kansas: 40 inches
Like Oklahoma, the Kansas snow-depth crown goes to a town with an upstate New York namesake. Syracuse, Kan., near the Colorado border, had 40 inches of snow cover on Dec. 31, 1918.
38. Oklahoma: 36 inches
Buffalo, Okla., felt more like Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 22, 1971. The town 150 miles northwest of Oklahoma City had three feet of snow on the ground that day.
39. Missouri: 36 inches
Union, Mo., had three feet of snow on the ground on March 19-20, 1960.
40. Texas: 33 inches
33 inches of snow were measured near Vega, west of Amarillo, on Feb. 7, 1956. Image
41. Kentucky: 31 inches
Just outside Louisville, the city of La Grange had 31 inches of snow on the ground on Jan. 20, 1978.
42. South Carolina: 29 inches
In the mountains of Upstate South Carolina, 29 inches of snow capped Caesars Head on Feb. 18, 1969.
43. Arkansas: 26 inches
The northeast Arkansas town of Calico Rock had a 26-inch snow depth on Jan. 22, 1918.
44. Delaware: 25 inches
Ten years ago, the New Castle County Airport in Wilmington observed 25 inches of snow on the ground on Feb. 18, 2003, tying the state record set near Bridgeville on Feb. 19, 1979.
45. Louisiana: 24 inches
Surprisingly, Louisiana's deepest snow wasn't far from the Gulf Coast. Just west of Lafayette, 24 inches blanketed the ground near Rayne, La., way back on Feb. 15, 1895
46. Alabama: 22 inches
In west-central Alabama, the town of Reform had 22 inches of snow on the ground on Jan. 24, 1940.
47. Georgia: 18 inches
The Superstorm of 1993 brought Georgia's deepest snow cover. Chatsworth, in northwest Georgia, had a foot and a half on the ground on March 13, 1993.
48. Mississippi 18 inches
Not surprisingly, Mississippi's deepest snow occurred within a few miles of its northern border, near Mount Pleasant on Dec. 23, 1963. Image: Snow at the State Capitol in Jackson on Feb. 12, 2010.
49. Hawaii: 5 inches
Despite its tropical location, Hawaii's high volcanic peaks can receive snow. Haleakala, on Maui, recorded 5 inches of snow cover on April 6, 1938. Image: snow-covered Mauna Kea on the island Hawaii as viewed from sea level on Jan. 8, 2011
50. Florida: 4 inches
Milton, Fla., just northeast of Pensacola, had 4 inches of snow on the ground on March 6, 1954. It all fell in one day, making it the state's heaviest one-day snowfall as well. Image: Snow in Ocala on Jan. 9, 2010