The Top 24-Hour Snowfall Totals By State
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Winter storms bring heavy snow to parts of the United States each year,but you might be surprised to find out how high the bar is to reach a state's 24-hour snowfall record.
Records in the U.S. range from a few inches to more than 6 feet. The map below shows the biggest 24-hour snowfalls ever recorded in all 50 states,according to data compiled by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.
As you might expect,many of the biggest record totals are located where mountainous terrain is involved such as in the West,the interior Northeast and Alaska. That's because mountains help enhance snowfall by adding lift to the atmosphere,and the fact they are generally colder locations overall.
States in most of the Midwest,Plains and along the immediate East Coast have records that generally range from 2 to 3 feet. The lowest 24-hour records are in parts of the Deep South and Hawaii.
(MORE:America's Snowiest Cities)
Alaska and Colorado lead the pack with the most extreme 24-hour U.S. snowfall records. Located in the mountains northeast of Valdez,Alaska,is Mile 47 Camp,which was buried by 78 inches of snow in the 24 hours ending Feb. 9,1963,making it the heaviest such total anywhere in the U.S.
In second place is Silver Lake,Colorado,at an elevation of 10,220 feet in the Rockies. It was buried by 6.3 feet (75.8 inches) of snow April 14-15,1921.
Two other states have had 24-hour snowfalls that exceeded 60 inches. Much like the top two locations,mountainous terrain played a role in squeezing out those extreme totals. Those states are California (67 inches in the Sierra Nevada) and Washington (65 inches in the Cascades).
Florida and Hawaii have the lowest snowfall records. That's probably no surprise given their warm climates. Florida's record 24-hour snow was 4 inches on March 6,1954,near Milton in the state's panhandle region.
Hawaii's 6.5-inch record was set at Haleakalā on Maui at an elevation of about 10,000 feet on Feb. 2,1936. No official records exist,but Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaii's Big Island may have seen higher totals in 24 hours.
The most recent record setters and the oldest. Six U.S. states have 24-hour snowfall records that were tied or broken this century. Those states include Connecticut (2013),Oklahoma (2011),Kansas (2009),Nebraska (2006),Indiana (2004) and Montana (2003-tie).
The two records that have stood the longest are 36 inches in Astoria,Illinois,during the 24 hours ending Feb. 28,1900,and 30 inches near Warren,Ohio,April 20,1901.
Chris Dolce has been a senior meteorologist with www.weathernow24.com for over 10 years after beginning his career with Weather Now 24 in the early 2000s.
