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Continuing the trek toward the snowiest National Weather Service reporting station, here are the next 50 cities on the list.

Rankings 101-150
Rank Location City Population Season Snowfall
101 New York (JFK), NY 8,008,278 41.3
102 Topeka, KS 122,377 40.7
102 Minneapolis, MN 382,618 40.7
104 Rapid City (Downtown), SD 59,607 40.1
105 Huntington, WV 51,475 40.0
105 Dayton, OH 166,179 40.0
107 La Crosse, WI 51,818 39.8
108 Dalhart, TX 7,237 39.7
109 Barrow, AK 4,581 39.3
110 Asheville, NC 68,889 39.2
111 Toledo, OH 313,619 39.1
112 Kalispell, MT 14,223 39.0
113 St. Joseph, MO 73,990 38.7
114 Cincinnati, OH 331,285 38.4
115 Bridgeport, CT 139,529 38.1
116 Milwaukee, WI 596,974 38.0
117 McGrath, AK 401 37.8
117 Aberdeen, SD 24,658 37.8
119 Rapid City (Airport), SD 59,607 37.7
120 Havre, MT 9,621 37.3
121 Eau Claire, WI 61,704 37.1
121 Portland, ME 64,249 37.1
123 Boston, MA 589,141 35.7
124 Kotzebue, AK 3,082 35.2
125 Goodland, KS 4,948 35.1
126 Williamsport, PA 30,706 34.9
127 Lynchburg, VA 65,269 34.8
128 Concordia, KS 5,714 34.7
129 Iowa City, IA 62,220 34.4
130 Reno, NV 180,480 34.3
131 Bethel, AK 5,471 34.2
132 Salt Lake City, UT 181,743 33.8
133 Indianapolis, IN 781,870 33.0
134 Grand Forks (Airport), ND 49,321 32.1
135 Providence, RI 173,168 31.5
135 Colorado Springs, CO 360,890 31.5
137 Clayton, NM 2,524 31.2
138 Williston, ND 12,512 30.9
139 St. Cloud, MN 59,107 30.8
140 Houghton, MI 7,010 30.7
141 Hartford, CT 121,578 30.6
142 Alamosa, CO 7,960 30.0
143 Glasgow, MT 3,253 29.7
144 Guymon, OK 10,472 29.6
145 Wausu, WI 38,426 29.5
146 Fort Wayne, IN 205,727 29.3
147 Amarillo, TX 173,627 28.9
148 Pueblo, CO 102,121 28.8
149 Pocatello, ID 51,466 28.3
150 Richmond, VA 197,790 28.0

Once again, the surprises to me are the cities in Alaska and Colorado being so low. Other than that, this table of 50 cities has more northern representation than the previous two posts, which was bound to happen at some point.

The next update will showcase the cities in the 51-100 range. At least one of them is a Golden Snowball city.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Continuing the look at snowfall throughout the United States, here are the next 50 cities in the list.

Rankings 151-200
Rank Location City Population Season Snowfall
151 Wallops Island, VA 434 27.9
152 Harrison, AR 12,152 27.2
153 Blountville, TN 2,959 26.7
154 Helena, MT 25,780 26.1
155 Grand Junction, CO 41,986 25.3
156 Fairbanks, AK 30,224 24.8
157 Springfield, IL 111,454 23.7
157 Lexington, KY 260,512 23.7
159 Lincoln, IL 15,369 23.5
160 Oklahoma City, OK 506,132 23.2
161 Winnemucca, NV 7,174 22.9
162 Tulsa, OK 393,049 22.8
163 Louisville, KY 256,231 21.3
164 Columbia, MO 84,531 20.7
165 Springfield, MO 151,580 20.1
166 Boise, ID 185,787 19.9
167 Dodge City, KS 25,176 19.7
168 Valentine, NE 2,820 18.6
169 Fort Smith, AR 80,268 18.5
170 Roswell, NM 45,293 18.4
171 Burlington, IA 26,839 18.0
172 Dallas, TX 1,118,580 17.1
173 Joplin, MO 45,504 17.0
173 Missoula, MT 57,053 17.0
175 Borger, TX 14,302 16.6
175 Wichita Falls, TX 101,202 16.6
175 Greensboro, NC 223,891 16.6
178 Bowling Green, KY 49,296 15.4
179 Yakima, WA 71,845 15.3
180 Evansville, IN 121,582 15.3
181 Wichita, KS 344,284 15.1
182 St. Louis, MO 348,189 14.5
183 Spokane (Airport), WA 195,629 14.3
183 Lubbock, TX 199,564 14.3
185 Spokane (Downtown), WA 195,629 14.0
186 Danville, VA 48,411 13.4
187 Jonesboro, AR 55,515 13.3
188 Jackson, TN 59,643 12.0
188 Abilene, TX 115,930 12.0
190 Paducah, KY 26,307 10.3
191 Chattanooga, TN 155,554 10.0
192 Childress, TX 6,778 9.6
193 Norfolk, VA 234,403 9.3
194 Columbia, SC 116,278 8.9
194 El Paso, TX 563,662 8.9
196 Little Rock, AR 183,133 8.7
196 Memphis (Downtown), TN 650,100 8.7
198 Augusta, GA 195,182 8.0
198 Raleigh, NC 726,093 8.0
200 Tyler, TX 83,650 7.9

I did not expect cities in Colorado or Montana to be this far down on the list, and yet, here they are at 154, 155 and 173. There is another Alaska city fairly down the rankings as well, Fairbanks in 156. Other than that, this seems to be as expected, most of the cities in this ranking area are in the southern portion of the country.

The next SnowDown update will feature rankings 101-150. More northern cities will be shown, including one from New York State.

In the New York State prediction, I believed that all of the Golden Snowball cities would have below average high temperatures on either Saturday or Sunday. The table below shows the National Weather Service’s high temperature data for both days.

New York State High Temperatures
City Saturday Average/Recorded Sunday Average/Recorded
GSB Cities with below average temperatures: 5
Albany 58/49 58/53
Binghamton 54/50 54/49
Buffalo 55/43 55/53
Rochester 56/46 56/56
Syracuse 56/49 57/55

All five were below average on Saturday, so the forecast is correct. Rochester was the only one to not be below average on both days, hitting average exactly on Sunday. Most cities were warmer on Sunday than Saturday, only Binghamton had cooler Sunday high temperatures than Saturday’s.

In the World forecast, I believed that a majority of the southern New England reporting stations would total a half an inch of rain or more from Friday through Sunday. The table below shows the daily precipitation amounts for each city, as reported by the National Weather Service.

Southern New England Rainfall
City Friday Saturday Sunday
Cities with 0.5 inches or more total: 3
Boston, MA 0.39 0.15 0.08
Bridgeport, CT 0.25 0.11 None
Hartford, CT 0.47 0.02 Trace
Providence, RI 0.41 0.11 Trace
Worcester, MA 0.36 0.21 Trace

Boston, Providence and Worcester total over 0.5, so the forecast is correct. Both Connecticut cities were under the mark. All of the cities had the majority of the rainfall on Friday and Boston was the only city to get measurable precipitation on Sunday.

Golden SnowCast Results
Region Record Percentage
Overall 36-4 90%
NYS 18-2 90%
World 18-2 90%

It took all 20, but the 90% mark has been met! Both the NYS and World forecasts finished 18-2, and the worst forecast of the season was snowfall for Pennsylvania back in forecast 4. Only one forecast batch went 0-2, which also happens to be forecast 4. The other 2 misses were forecast 1′s NYS outlook and forecast 14′s World prediction. I’m looking forward to next season, as there are some changes on the way.

Have a great week everyone!

Without further delay, here is the bottom 52 of the 2009-10 Golden SnowDown:

Rankings 201-252
Rank Location City Population Season Snowfall
201 Midland, TX 94,996 7.7
202 Annette, AK 1,584 7.6
203 Longview, TX 73,344 7.2
204 Nashville, TN 545,524 7.1
205 Memphis (Airport), TN 650,100 6.8
206 Pendleton, OR 16,354 6.7
207 Greenville, NC 60,476 6.1
207 Knoxville, TN 173,890 6.1
209 Texarkana, AR 26,448 6.0
210 Charlotte, NC 540,828 5.9
211 Shreveport, LA 200,145 5.8
212 San Angelo, TX 88,439 5.7
213 Atlanta, GA 416,474 5.3
214 Athens, GA 100,266 5.0
215 Muscle Shoals, AL 11,924 4.8
216 Medicine Lodge, KS 2,193 4.5
217 Albuquerque, NM 448,607 4.2
218 El Dorado, AR 21,530 4.1
219 Wilmington, NC 75,838 3.8
220 Waco, TX 113,726 3.7
221 Montgomery, AL 201,568 3.5
222 Charleston, SC 96,650 3.4
223 Alexandria, LA 46,342 3.2
223 College Station, TX 67,890 3.2
223 Huntsville, AL 158,216 3.2
226 Monroe, LA 53,107 3.1
227 New Bern, NC 23,128 3.0
227 Macon, GA 97,255 3.0
229 Lewiston, ID 30,904 2.6
230 Lufkin, TX 32,709 2.5
231 Cedar Rapids, IA 120,758 2.5
232 DeQueen, AR 5,948 2.3
233 Columbus, GA 185,781 2.0
233 Baton Rouge, LA 227,818 2.0
235 Anniston, AL 24,276 1.9
236 Birmingham, AL 242,820 1.7
237 Campo, CA 3,251 1.0
237 Tuscaloosa, AL 77,906 1.0
237 Houston, TX 1,953,631 1.0
240 Pine Bluff, AR 55,085 0.9
240 Savannah, GA 131,510 0.9
242 Cape Hatteras, NC 1,613 0.7
242 Tupelo, MS 34,211 0.7
242 Lafayette, LA 110,257 0.7
245 Austin (Mabry), TX 656,562 0.6
246 Medford, OR 63,154 0.5
247 Mobile, AL 198,915 0.3
247 Austin (Airport), TX 656,562 0.3
249 Victoria, TX 60,603 0.2
249 Lake Charles, LA 71,757 0.2
249 San Antonio, TX 1,144,646 0.2
252 New Orleans, LA 484,674 0.1

There are a few surprises to this list. First off, only one official reporting station in California reported measurable snowfall for the season (as of early April): Campo with 1 inch. I know some parts of California can get a lot of snowfall, but apparently none of them are official measurements. Second, I did not expect to see any Alaska cities to be in the 100s, let alone the 200s. However, Annette is there, ranked 202.

Congrats to New Orleans on being the city with the least measurable snowfall for the season!

Next SnowDown update will feature cities ranked 151-200. Colorado is known for snow, and yet, one of their cities fell in that range, as well as another Alaskan city.

It’s the last Golden SnowCast Forecast for the 2009-10 season. To start things off, as always, is the New York State prediction. This involves a look at high temperatures for the weekend.

All of the Golden Snowball cities will have high temperatures below average on either Saturday or Sunday.

After record breaking heat to start the month, temperatures look to be relatively cool this weekend for Upstate New York. For the forecast to be correct, on either Saturday or Sunday, all five GSB cities must have high temperatures below average highs.

For the World forecast, it’s a look at rainfall in the southern New England states.

A majority of the reporting stations in southern New England will total a half an inch of rain or more from Friday to Sunday.

Five reporting stations that will be used for verifying the forecast: Bridgeport and Hartford, CT, Boston and Worcester, MA, and Providence, RI. If rainfall totals are a half an inch or more in at least 3 of those cities, the forecast will be correct.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone!

With the comments on the All Snowiest Cities page about Flagstaff, AZ (among others), I thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at how the smaller cities stack up to the cities with a population of 100,000 or more. Before I begin revealing the results, here is some background on the criteria I have set.

First, all snowfall stats are from the National Weather Service. If a city does not have NWS stats, I did not include them on the list. Second, to make the list, a city must have measurable snowfall shown. That is anything 0.1 or more for the season. If a city has missing data, trace amounts, or no snowfall, they were not included in the list. Third, population does not matter. If a site meets the first two criteria, it’s going to be listed, whether it has a population of 100 or 100,000 or 100,000,000. Population data is taken for the city listed on the NWS site. If it is a multiple city area (such as Scranton/Wilkes Barre), the first name listed counts. This is just for quick statistics purposes and has no barring on the results. Finally, a city that has multiple reporting stations will have all sites included. For example, I consider New York City to have 3 sites: Central Park, JFK and La Guardia airports. All three will count separately as New York (Central Park), New York (JFK) and New York (La Guardia) with population data for New York City.

All snowfall statistics were taken the first week of April. With over 250 cities making the list, and having my course work start up again soon, I would rather not go through all cities another round, especially since most of the cities have not seen substantial snowfall since the start of the month.

In the next few days, I will begin revealing the results of the 2009-10 Golden SnowDown. I couldn’t come up with a better name, it’s a snowfall showdown, so put it together and that’s what you get. If you have a better name for it, then you’re just more creative than I am. :)

For the New York State prediction, I stated that at least 2 of the Golden Snowball cities would have some frozen precipitation on either Friday or Saturday. The table below shows which cities had frozen precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.

New York State Frozen Precipitation
City Friday Saturday
GSB Cities with frozen precipitation: 5
Albany No Yes
Binghamton Yes Yes
Buffalo Yes Yes
Rochester Yes No
Syracuse Yes Yes

Turns out that all five did, none of which had measurable frozen precipitation. The number is not what mattered, just if it was there, so the forecast is correct. Three of them, Binghamton, Buffalo and Syracuse, had frozen precipitation on both days.

For the World forecast, I believed that a majority of the Nevada reporting stations would have lows within 5 degrees of average on either Friday or Saturday. The table below show the National Weather Service’s reported low temperatures.

Nevada Low Temperatures
City Friday Average/Reported Saturday Average/Reported
Nevada Cities with low temperatures within 5 degrees of average: 7
Elko 29/24 29/29
Ely 25/26 25/25
Eureka 24/25 24/24
Las Vegas 52/51 52/61
Reno 32/36 32/41
Tonopah 33/35 33/35
Winnemucca 29/27 29/34

All seven had at least one day with low temperatures within five degrees of average, so the forecast is correct. Las Vegas and Reno were the only two not to have that occur on both days. Elko, Ely and Eureka were spot on with average on Saturday.

Golden SnowCast Results
Region Record Percentage
Overall 34-4 89.47%
NYS 17-2 89.47%
World 17-2 89.47%

Another 2 for 2 week, and 90% is still possible going into the final batch of the season. Both NYS and World forecasts must be correct for the target to be met. A new scoring system will likely be in place next year. I believe I mentioned that earlier.

Have a great week everyone!

While it has felt more like Summer than Spring in many places in the United States, Winter may have one last gasp. The New York State forecast involves frozen precipitation to the start of the weekend.

At least 2 of the Golden Snowball cities will have frozen precipitation on Friday or Saturday.

No accumulation with this, just an event. As long as there is some accumulation (even a trace) of frozen precipitation noted on the climate summaries of at least 2 of the five GSB cities, this forecast will be correct.

For the World forecast, it’s a look at low temperatures in Nevada.

A majority of the Nevada reporting stations will have low temperatures within 5 degrees of average on Friday or Saturday.

The reporting stations in Nevada are Elko, Ely, Eureka, Las Vegas, Reno, Tonopah and Winnemucca. The forecast will be deemed correct if four or more of them have low temperatures within 5 degrees of average on either Friday or Saturday.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

In the New York State forecast, I predicted that a majority of Golden Snowball cities would break record high temperatures on either Friday or Saturday. The table below shows high temperatures on both days, with asterisks indicating new records, as reported by the National Weather Service.

New York State Temperatures
City Friday Highs Saturday Highs
GSB Cities with new record highs: 5
Albany 77* 77
Binghamton 79* 79
Buffalo 79* 84*
Rochester 86* 87*
Syracuse 87* 87*

All five broke records on Friday and three records were broken on Saturday, so this forecast is correct. Binghamton’s 79 on Friday tied a record set in 1963. The oldest record that was broken was Buffalo’s April 2nd high of 72 in 1945.

For the World forecast, I believed that a majority of five chosen European cities would report rain on either Friday or Saturday. The table below shows if rain was noted in weather.com’s hourly reports.

Europe Rain
City Friday Saturday
European cities with rain on either day: 4
Berlin No Yes
London Yes Yes
Madrid No Yes
Paris Yes Yes
Rome No No

Two had rain on Friday, but four had rain on Saturday, so this forecast is correct. Rome was the only city not have rain on either day. London and Paris had some rain on both days.

Golden SnowCast Results
Region Record Percentage
Overall 32-4 88.89%
NYS 16-2 88.89%
World 16-2 88.89%

It’s another perfect batch and the percentage is the highest it’s been this season. Two NYS and two World forecasts remain, all of which must be correct in order to reach the goal.

Happy Easter everyone!

Taking a look back at the forecasts in March, there was a severe lack of snow predictions. That trend looks to continue for at least the start of April. In fact, the New York State forecast involves a look at record heat.

A majority of Golden Snowball cities will break record highs on either Friday or Saturday.

The GSB cities should have highs around 80 degrees on both days. If that holds true, records will likely fall. In order for my prediction to be correct, at least 3 cities must break record high temperatures on either Friday or Saturday.

For the World forecast, it’s a look at Europe. That’s right, it’s the second time the World forecast has gone outside of the United States.

A majority of the five chosen European cities will have rain on either Friday or Saturday.

The five chosen cities are Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris and Rome. I am not sure where I’d get data on the numbers, so all I am looking for is whether it rains or not. I’ll be using the hourly reports from weather.com to verify the forecast. If three or more have rain in any of the hourly reports on Friday or Saturday, this forecast will be correct.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone!