1,282 comments on “Current Top 25 Snowiest US Cities

  1. Hi! Is the Golden Snowball site not in service any more? It was there earlier this season, but now it seems to be gone. Living in and having grown up in the Syracuse area, I have always enjoyed watching the snowfall totals and five-city comparisons (Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse, Albany).

    If the Golden Snowball site is gone for good, I’m sad about that, but I’m sure there’s a good reason. Best wishes to you and many thanks for doing the work to keep it going throughout the years.

    I’ll just have to focus on this Golden Snow Globe site now and see how Syracuse compares with other cities in the nation, instead of just New York State! (I’ve been following it anyway–been following both sites for years.)

    Again, thanks and best wishes to you!

    • Hi Kathy, A Big Thanks for the kind words. I was having a couple of problems with the site not to mention I forgot to pay one of the bills, oops, lol. I am still keeping it up as far as posting the snow stats as often as I can. It should be up and running again. You may have to hit refresh the 1st time and it should load. Thanks again, Kathy! Patrick DeCoursey :) http://www.Goldensnowball.com

      • Thanks, Patrick. I see that the Golden Snowball site is up again. Yea! Happy to see that.

        Now… I wonder if you could, um, get us some SNOW this winter??? Well, I guess the warmer temperatures are helping keep the heating bill down. Gotta look at the positive!

        Thanks so much for your work!

  2. Erie and Flint should both be disqualified, as they are now both below 100,000 residents. Erie has about 92,000, and Flint is all the way down to about 81,000 according to the last census figures.

  3. Meanwhile, Flagstaff AZ is over here passing 140 inches, but we are just a few people too small to count.

  4. Where’s Flagstaff? We would have been #6 on this list from January alone. #2 now I’m guessing and we’re getting another foot today! People are always surprised to find this much snow in Arizona- it’s all about our 7000 foot elevation. 300 miles of interstate was shut down last week.

  5. 2022-2023 SNOW SEASON:

    Anchorage, AK SCORES FIRST!

    @NWSAnchorage has officially recorded 1.0” of snowfall for Anchorage, AK, on October 10, 2022.

    • Erie is appealing the census report. It was done in a very quick fashion during the COVID pandemic. People were scared to be around other people, so it was hard to find Census workers and people were apprehensive about exposing themselves to the Census Workers.

      Please wait until Erie’s appeal has been resolved before removing it from the eligible cities.

      • Also, per Erie, PA- a lot of college students who lived on Erie, PA campus’ 6months> weren’t accounted for. That’s a false count because any student who are residing in the schools city 183 days or more are supposed to be on that cities census report.

    • Regarding your question “What is the source of this data?” The United States Census Bureau, a part of The United States Department of Commerce, is responsible for the data. They call the data set “The Metropolitan Statistical Area” or MSA for short. You can read more about it here: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/about.html

      If you want to know what (if any) MSA a potential “Snowiest US Cities” list candidate is in, you can search for it here: https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
      Just type in the name of your city and state in the search box, then press enter. I searched for a little village I visited somewhere in the mid ‘80s called “Hayes Center, NE” and the search engine actually found it. I see the population has declined from 350 to a 2020 value of 224 people. It has a land area of 0.3 sq. miles and is an hour’s drive, one way and at 60 mph, from the nearest hotel so you see, every little village is counted. (God bless the US government. They are so thorough.)

      I hope I answered your question.

      • If we are using Metro area than Boulder retroactively wins a couple championships. The 19-20 season for one.
        This just opens up for more “Eries” to come in and say why not us. You need to stop somewhere.

        • I am only suggesting we use the metro area to qualify a community for inclusion in the list. The snowfall numbers will still be taken from the Boulder Weather Service Field Office (WFO) for the Boulder area, just as they always have been. Maybe I’m missing something here. Please feel free to explain it to me further.

          Regarding opening the list up to more candidates, this probably won’t happen. In fact, it may have the opposite effect. The areas included in, for example, the Boulder MSA are already included as part of Bolder MSA (Please understand that I’m only trying to make a point. I do not intend for the statement to be sarcastic.) Boulder itself has a population in excess of 330,000 and as such it already qualifies for inclusion in the SnowGlobe list. Expressing this a different way, all of the smaller communities in the Bolder MSA, Altoona for example, are already included as part of Boulder, hence, they can’t reasonably be listed again.

          Maybe I don’t understand the criteria for qualification or maybe I haven’t done a very good job of explaining myself. I have been accused of that in the past. I believe the criteria requires we must show an affected population in excess of 100,000 and we must show enough snowfall, as reported by the National Weather Service for the community in question in order to be included in the top 25 snowiest cities in the list. There may be snowier areas in the reporting location but he numbers still come from the National Weather Service reporting location. As I understand it, this is how it has always been done. Along these same lines and as mentioned in an earlier post, the snowfall numbers reported for Erie aren’t even measured in Erie. They are measured in Millcreek, PA at the airport so this whole idea of reporting for every little village in the MSA will be breaking with a tradition and I am not proposing we change the tradition. That is an argument for a different discussion. Have I done a better job of explaining my proposal?.

    • I have been following all of you comments and it’s nice to see a good conversation going on and seeing everyone trying to help each other. I really appreciate this. Obviously, I have been pretty much absent on here this season. I won’t get into the reason but I just wanted to let ya’s know if you didn’t know already that we have a Facebook group with a lot of good people like yourself and it is a fun, civil group. I am active in the group. Thanks again for keeping it civil here and check the FB group out at https://www.facebook.com/groups/861746940543642 . I think a couple of you may be members already of the FB group.

  6. Erie, PA is on the verge of being eliminated from the Snow Globe contest by virtue of the city’s dwindling population and this doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the contest. By virtue of the fact the size of a city must be above 100,000 to be eligible for recognition in the contest, it is apparent that the goal is to include only significant populations affected by winter snowfall and I agree with this goal.

    My arguments:

    On the surface, the concept of limiting qualification based on population size is sound but the implementation appears to be somewhat flawed. It only considers the population within a specific political division, a city, but this criterion does not truly represent the number of people in the community. This inconsistency was recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as early as 1930 and they dealt with it by creating what is now called the Metropolitan Statistical Area (the MSA). Their solution has been revised and refined several times since, in an effort to describe an area that accurately represents the population of a given community without regard to political definitions.

    I submit that Erie, PA. is a prime example of the need for the MSA. Erie occupies a tiny land mass of 19.37 square miles with a (contested) population of 94,381 yet the Erie MSA includes a total population of 270,876 according to figures taken from the census bureau. I live in Erie. I see that much of Erie is business or manufacturing space. Many of the people that support those businesses live in the outlying areas. To exclude Erie from the contest based on the population of the city proper, also excludes the people not physically living in the city but who are equally affected by the same snowfall. Those people are 176,000 strong. I’m pretty sure you have seen the problem for some time but I admit the solution appears to be elusive.

    I submit that modifying the criteria for qualification to examine the population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area, instead of just the city population, would better fit the spirit of the contest. When you consider the fact that snowfall for Erie isn’t even measured within the city limits, but rather in the neighboring community of Millcreek, it simply makes sense and I’m willing to bet money that Erie is not the only city in this situation.

    Will you please consider this adjustment to the contest rules?

    • As a supporter of Erie, I have to disagree. It’s a slippery slope. There is no easy way to manage the careful evaluation of all these little towns and metro areas scattered across the country to see if they are at 100k population.

      Many smaller areas get dumped on way more than Erie/Roc/Buff/Syr and would want to be added to the list once they see the free pass that Erie gets.

      • Hi Matt,

        First, thank you for your response. Arguments such as yours help all of us to formulate a better criterion while dismissing bad ideas and, if mine turns out to be a bad idea, I will take no offense.

        I agree it is sort of a slippery slope but I respectfully disagree with your assertion that “There is no easy way to manage the careful evaluation of all these little towns and metro areas scattered across the country to see if they are at 100k population.” In fact, I see an exceptionally easy way to manage the contestants: Make other people do the work for us! Require residents of the MSA’s that wish to be included in the contest petition the site manager for inclusion. Give the requisitioner guidelines and make the petitioner show that the MSA is above the minimum requirements for inclusion.

        As for your belief that “Many smaller areas get dumped on way more than Erie/Roc/Buff/Syr and would want to be added to the list once they see the free pass that Erie gets.” I see this concern as irrelevant. I submit that if they are indeed “smaller areas,” they will not be able to meet the minimum criteria proposed above and will not be eligible for consideration and again, they must cite proof with links to the US Census Bureau.

        • I live 11 miles south east of “Erie” city. Approx 15 miles from the airport where they take the snowfall measurements. Yes the airport is in Millcreek twnshp. and neither one gets the snow that Erie county does. Look at the area that BUF, ROC and SYR encompass compaired to Erie. Erie is the little city that could. I get an average of 260″ because of the ridge south of I90. Let this little city keep fighting it’s way to the top!!! Buf, Roc and Syr all lay in their snow belt area. Just me, PS I have shoveled about 142″ as of today :)

          • Ms. Daniels, while I admit your comments are noteworthy and should not be ignored, I see it as a topic for a different discussion. I see your argument to be one concerning where we measure snowfall. I see the current topic being the metric of affected population size vs. population size whithin the included city limits as a criteria for inclusion.

            On a different note, 142″ ! WOW! That is a lot.

      • The thing is, though — it’s not banding a bunch of small areas together to make them “count” on the leaderboard.

        Erie is a very bizarre area. There are several neighboring townships (Millcreek, Harborcreek, and Summit) that are outside the city limits HOWEVER, all of the postal addresses for those townships is Erie, PA. We don’t vote for mayor — and though I’m in Millcreek, my address is Erie, PA… not millcreek, PA. Not only that, where the National Weather Service measures snowfall is at the Erie Airport — which is located in Millcreek Township. So this isn’t banding a few random boroughs together to push them over 100k. This is adding up all of the population who uses Erie, PA as their postal address.

        It’s not at all like most small villages and boroughs that do have their own postal addresses. Go just beyond Millcreek and you get Fairview, PA and Girard, PA. South of Summit is Edinboro, PA. Small boroughs with their own city named in their address. It’s unusual, but it’s why Erie does have the population and why it should stay in without leading to that slippery slope.

        • Dear Moe, You are sort of making my point for me. Millcreek, Harborcreek and Summit are included in the Erie MSA but are not counted in the population of Erie because Erie is a political division with it’s own government. In this case you are pointing out the very reason the MSA exists.

      • Maybe they could count the county population. I support Erie. I live in Greenfield Twnshp. and we get a TON of snow.

    • I think this sets a bad precedence. 100K residents have always been the cuttoff point.
      The creator would have to retroactively go back and change many championships in this case. I know Boulder would have been first in 19-20 by a mile and they already had 100K residents at the time but the census wasn’t out yet.

      • As far as I can see, there is no obligation to go back and change “winners” just because we decided to changed the criteria going forward and, while this is a reach, there is precedent in our criminal justice system: If someone commits an act and that act is later made illegal, prosecutors are not allowed to charge that person with a crime committed before the rules changed. Similarly, the rules here going forward should have no bearing on the past. Again, it is a reach but the logic behind ignoring past results is identical.

    • Whereas the Mayor of Erie, PA is contesting the census count (claiming that a significant number of their population were not counted), along with the ruling that this will cannot be resolved until 2022, COMBINED with the fact that Erie, PA has been a huge player in the excitement of this top 25 list for so many years (no, I don’t live there), I would submit that Erie, PA should remain in this contest for the 2021-22 Winter season.
      If the 2022 census appeal fails to bump their city back above the 100,000 “qualifier”, then a decision could be possibly reconsidered for the 2022-23 Winter season? I understand that the contest is “clear” as to the 100,000 mark being the standard for this list. Since other cities, such as South Bend, IN, whose population has trended downward over the recent decades and who barely itself, just clears that 100,000 qualifying number, I think it would be in “good form” to continue Erie, PA in this contest for the 2021-22 Winter season, since resolutions to the census are still being challenged in this, as well as possibly other cities.

    • The official NOAA snow measuring device for Erie isn’t within the geographic boundaries of the city proper, but out at the Erie Airport which is in neighboring Millcreek Township. Add in Millcreek’s near 60,000 residents, and there’s no issue.

  7. Syracuse has a few inches of snow forecasted for tonight/tomorrow…… will it be enough to gain possession of the #1 spot? We will find out soon!

  8. 2019/20 was the year of the underdog and a pretty uneventful winter for many of us. LOL, most of us did not even get close to our annual average snowfall. Even Rochester as the winner fell short of their average and several underdogs crept into the top 20.

    A very strange winter indeed, but then we have always had some of those in the past…..

    • BANG! and just like that, literally overnight, The Big E has shot ahead of the field, but take heart, you illogically jealous snow-lovers, as soon as the census numbers are released, Erie will be disqualified from the competition and you can have it all to yourselves.

      • You are probably correct, but then there are many smaller communities that receive much more snow than any of us so it is all relative. Another individual who posted is correct however, There are a number of other immediately adjacent communities that are in fact a part of Erie but do not count that way in the Census. Not that it matters, but just an interesting little factoid.

        • Sad and sorry to say, Mary, but people are not returning to Erie. They should. It’s a wonderful part of the country, but for decades parents have been encouraging their children to leave instead of staying to help rebuild Erie. It’s been shrinking since the ‘70’s when manufacturing left.

  9. April ten and it is snowing to beat the band in Rochester and according to my daughter in Clay, NY a suburb of Syracuse it is also snowing there. Here in my suburb east of Rochester we have about three inches so far.

    • Why isn’t Boulder, CO listed?
      Has a population of 107,000+ and has had a snowfall of over 150 inches this winter

      • In 2010 the last census, your population only 98500. I guess you’re going to own the rest of us in the next decade. But this year, GO ROCH

        • Hard to believe that we regained the top spot – credit to our frequent overnight freezing temps. Still weeks to go this spring, with three former champs within reach, but it’d be nice for ROC to win something after this dry spell endured by our minor league sports teams.

  10. Thursday, we had snow around 6 inches in Lakewood, CO. No update yet.
    This former Syracuse native wants the title !

  11. So Syracuse NY got over 3 new inches on the 20th of February? I find that hard to believe. Who’s taking these measurements up at the airport….hmm?

    • Probably the same guy measuring snowfall at the Rochester Airport. He says we also picked up 3″but everywhere I go in Rochester and the metro area 8″ to 12″ would be more accurate. But our airport is 8 miles south of the city just far enough away from Lake Ontario versus Syracuse which measures snow at Hancock Field which is north of Syracuse where the most snow falls. I was stationed there in the 60′s and married a Liverpool gal so I know the snow facts. And here is a fact; if snow is measured anywhere in Rochester away from the airport this city would this award hands down almost every year.

  12. Your general website for goldsnowball award (for the five upstate NY cities, Albany, Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo) is glitching for at least two web browsers (Firefox & Chrome); and is sending download.gz responses back, instead of opening the webpage.

    The other websites, for background and cities over a 100,000 are opening fine.

    Thought you’d like to know.

    • Thanks, BMc, I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know. I know my hosting company was supposed to be doing an upgrade yesterday, 2/10 and I’m wondering if that is what the problem is. I try and contact them tomorrow and see what they have to say. Thanks again ;) Pat

  13. Folks in Erie need to enjoy the competition for one more year or so as this year’s census will put them below the 100,000 population standard (At least, that is what I have read). Too bad, it was a good run .

    • The city limits of Erie might be under 100k — but the surrounding Millcreek Township (we have an address of Erie, PA and NOT Millcreek) coupled with the city is over 100k. It’s also where the airport is located which is where the snowfall totals are measured here. So, really, it should stay. Most people consider City of Erie + Millcreek to be Erie. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    • Looks like erie is in for a solid comeback this weekend. Should be getting another 6 to 12 inches over 2 or 3 days. And like he said Erie would have well over 100000 people if they would just recognize Millcreek as part of Erie. Snowfall is taken in Millcreek at the airport, which is controversial to me because I personally know if the snowfall was taken by i90 on the southern end of Erie this competition would be way closer every year. I work up on the hill by i90 and its night and day difference how much more snow Erie gets than at the airport in Millcreek.

      • Location has always been an issue for most cities, The year Buffalo received 7 feet in one storm their official total for that event was measured in inches because the airport was outside of the sharp lake effect snowfall gradient. Ditto for the address issues. Moe is correct that there are many people who are outside of Erie City limits that actually have Erie addresses. That is another item that affects many areas, but the rules here say census based, so it is what it is. If the host of this web site didn’t set some type of reasonable limits he or she would be pulling hair out trying to keep up and stay sane :)

        LOL, Paul..Can’t we just keep this fun? Remember that there are plenty of smaller places that blow us ALL out of the water when it comes to snowfall totals.

        • Alan,

          Wasn’t try to be a tube. Am from Erie, now living in Southern California, and love when my hometown is in the running. Good to hear that after the census, Erie might still be in competition.

      • The proximity to the airport is a factor in most of the Lake Effect cities. Rochester’s is further south of most of the city and probably doesn’t capture the actual peak snowfall, Buffalo’s often misses their massive storms, and Syracuse’s is a bit northeast of the city and may amplify their annual totals also.

        Also, in terms of population cutoffs, sprawl, and keeping Erie in the competition… as two examples, Buffalo and Rochester Metro populations are over 1 million. It’s not really fair or valid to keep rounding up the outskirt populations until you’ve reached 100k. There may be some towns just below 100k that get hammered each year that aren’t included in the competition.

        NOW, with all that being said, I don’t mind keeping Erie in the competition.

    • Read the rules. Cities with populations over 100,000. I mean we could put Tug Hill on the list and this would no longer be a competition.

      • You got that right. Snow in the Tughill townships are measured in feet not inches. 300″ is common in this beautiful wilderness region

      • The only reason Syracuse beats Rochester at all is because snow is measured at Hancock Field north of the city and where I was stationed in the Air Force for three years. Rochester measures its snow 8 mile south of the city where the least amount of snow falls.Now having married a girl from Liverpool I get to see a lot of snowfall between the two cities I can assure you that Rochester would win hands down if snow was measured north in the city. After the military I moved to Webster, NY a town just east of the city and snow totals there average almost 200 inches a year. Now the only time Buffalo will have a chance to win is if the winter is mild and shallow Lake Erie doesn’t freeze over in December.

        PS: Moving to a new home in Clay this spring to get away from Western NY snow. LOL

        • The only way Buffalo wins? You do realize Buffalo still holds the record for snowiest season on record for a city over 100K with 199.2 inches right?

          That record has stood for 42 years and counting and is no danger of being broken this year.

          • Matt get real. Do you honestly think that sections of Rechester and Syracuse have never topped that. The Coast Guard at the Port of Rochester measure over 200 inches often. Lived in Webster a suburb of Rochester and over 200″ a year was common.”

            Here are to only stats you should look at on this site:

            Annual 50 years avenge snowfall:

            Buffalo – 94.7 ”
            Rochester – 99.5″
            Syracuse – 123.8″

            Athughy Old Forge does not qualify interns of population here is there average:

            Old Forge – 177.3

            One more stat.The year Buffalo has that early fall 80″ snowstorm guess who had more snow at the end of the year? Wasn’t Buffalo. Rochester and Syracuse. Guess Lake Erie froze over to soon

          • Tom, the year Buffalo had the big early storm, the airport actually only measured 16 or 17 inches. So not an accurate “stat.”

  14. Erie, BUF, and Rochester….No worries. Upper air models have been showing some really cold air moving in around December 10th or 11th. That should wake up the Lake Erie snow machine and allow some if not all of us to start catching up to Colorado….We’ll see

    • Cold air will also freeze over shallow Lake Erie earlier shutting down that snow machine earlier..Now Lake Ontario, being very deep, willl create huge amount of lake affect snow all winter.Thus the over 300′ ANNUALY in the Tug Hill Plateau. if you love snow this is where you want to live.

  15. Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester should all be in the top 10 by Thursday morning. Syracuse could be #1 if the wind/lakes gods bless us. Good day.

  16. Buffalo the greatest city of them all will win this year. The most worthy and glorious city where all the men drive lifted trucks. Erie Is a questionable city with many economy cars and does not deserve this wonderful award.

    • ROFL. Lifted trucks to make up inadequacies in other places? :)

      PA actually has good common sense limitations on what modifications you can make to a truck, so not a valid comparison anyway.

      It all comes down to wind direction, temperature, and timing. It is a safe bet that one or both cities will eventually be in the running and those three criteria will most likely determine which of us is on top and whether either of us wins. If the wind direction does not cooperate neither of us may be in the running.

      I now have a friend who lives in a desert area on an Australian coastline. She cannot comprehend how we cope with ANY snow let alone the 4+ feet you and I have seen in one event on multiple occasions…..

    • BuffaloThe arm pit of the chicken wing seldom wins the most snow award. Once shallow LAKE ERIE freezes over early January Rochester and Syracuse will take over to win 9 out of ten years and by a lot. Of course you could move to Adams Corners in the Tug Hill Plateau north of Syracuse where 300″ per year are common. Buffalo has one good year and they think they are the King of snow. But they need some thing to hold on to because the Bils and Sabers aren’t doing it for the Queen City

      • LOL. Not top hijack the thread and personally I could not care less about the NFL, but the Bills seem to be doing pretty darn good this year….Let’s keep this fun folks

      • By-the-by, as a Syracuse resident… I do keep track of the snowfall in the Tug too. But if you’re a serious nob-head track snowfall in Yellowstone, or on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s upper peninsula. Currently Houghton/Hancock (home to Michigan Tech University on the Keweenaw) have snow accumulations of 187″ to 224″, and it’s only February. Some parts of Houghton County saw total accumulations of over 390″ last year.

        I know Yellowstone see’s snowfall amounts of over 300″ for the winter as well.

        I am looking for Syracuse to beat out Rochester this year…. but Rochester has a twelve inch lead. Might be too much to catch for this year… go Syracuse, but congrats to Rochester if they win…. dubious honors at best.

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