Snowbelt cities like Buffalo and Syracuse in New York are among the snowiest cities in the United States, but others also receive significant amounts of snowfall. Salt Lake City, Utah, Anchorage, Alaska, and Denver, Colorado, have each received 2.5 meters (8 feet) or more in their record high seasons. These record highs are for cities only; remote mountain areas and smaller towns have received higher snowfall amounts. Paradise Ranger Station in Washington State and Thompson Pass, Alaska, regularly receive more than 12.5 meters (42 feet) of snow each winter. Sites along the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada Mountains also receive between 10 and 20 meters (33 to 67 feet) in a season.

Some notable North American snowstorms

Many communities across the country endure blizzards or unexpectedly large amounts of snow. The following list is not meant to be comprehensive, but captures a sampling of the historic blizzards in the United States.

February and March 1717: "The Great Snow of 1717" blanketed New England in a series of four storms, leaving nearly 1.25 meters (4 feet) on the ground and drifts up to 8 meters (25 feet) high.

January 1772: "The Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm" is so named because it trapped both men at their homes with snow up to one meter (three feet) deep throughout Maryland and Virginia.

December 1778: Named after the Revolutionary War troops stationed in Rhode Island, drifts were reported to be 4.5 meters (15 feet) high after this storm.

December 1811: A powerful storm buffeted New York City, Long Island, and southern New England, accompanied by gale-force winds and destructive tides that severely damaged many ships and harbors.

January 1857: "The Cold Storm" produced severe blizzard conditions along much of the eastern seaboard. Temperatures fell below nine degrees below zero Fahrenheit, and snowfalls were up to 60 centimeters (24 inches) deep.

March 1888: The "Blizzard of '88" produced temperatures plummeting well below zero degrees Fahrenheit, ravaging gusts of wind and deep snow drifts that stranded several cities, leaving them without transportation or communication. New York City suffered the most damage, particularly to its harbor areas.

November 1898: The "Portland Storm" was named after the ship that sank off the coast of Cape Cod, the S.S. Portland. High winds and moderately heavy snows accompanied the storm.

January 1922: The "Knickerbocker Storm" dumped over 60 centimeters (24 inches) of heavy snow on Washington D.C. causing the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre to collapse, killing nearly 100 people.

December 1947: A post-Christmas storm caught New York residents by surprise, dropping more than 50 centimeters (20 inches) of snow in 24 hours.

January 1967: A series of record-breaking storms battered the west coast of Lake Michigan, hitting Chicago the hardest, shutting nearly everything down. Looting of the unattended stores became rampant, and it took the city over two weeks to clear the major highways and roads.

February 1969: New York City became trapped under a deep snow. Commuters became stranded in their cars, schools closed, and travelers were stuck at airports, which were also forced to close. To make matters worse, many of the snow plows had become buried by snow in their storage lots and had to be dug out before they could be used. The city and outlying suburbs were forced to hire 10,000 shovelers and workers to clear the streets.

February 1977: Ontario, Canada, and western New York state were slammed by a storm that killed 28 people and shut down the city of Buffalo for more than a week. Highways were clogged with thousands of stranded vehicles, and people became trapped at schools, stores, and offices, where they were forced to spend the night because they could not make it home through the blizzard.

March 1993: The "Blizzard of the Century" ravaged the southern mid-Atlantic states from Alabama to Massachusetts, accompanied in other states by severe weather disturbances such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, and floods. Many locations experienced record-breaking snowfalls and record snow depths.

January 1996: The Blizzard of 1996 was responsible for over 100 deaths and brought much of the eastern United States to a complete halt. Schools, offices and airports were closed for several days in some areas as roads were impassable. Compounding problems, two subsequent storms blasted the same areas within the following week-and-a-half.

December 26-27, 2010: Many Americans who missed out on a white Christmas got their fill of snow when a blizzard carved a path of disruption down the East Coast, leaving thousands of travelers across the country stranded as airlines grounded more than 7,000 flights. Pummeling many regions from midday on December 26 through the following afternoon, the post-holiday storm featured a rare meteorological event known as thundersnow, in which thunder and lighting are accompanied by heavy snow rather than rain. New York City’s transportation system took a particularly harsh beating, with passengers stranded in subway cars for up to nine hours and abandoned buses scattering the unplowed streets. Snowfall was deepest in Rahway, New Jersey, which received a whopping 32 inches.

 

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