The 2023-2024 Top 25 Snowiest Cities in The United States With Most Snow
Top 25 Snowiest US Cities ARE UNOFFICIAL as of 12/1/2024 8:00 PM
First off as always, a BIG Thanks to those who made donations so far this season. I truly appreciate them and they help out a lot 
PayPal does accept most credit cards and Please let me know where you are from in the description box at Pay Pal OK, end of begging, and stay safe this snowy season
A Big Thanks To You Folks For Your Donations This Season:
The Top 25 snowiest US cities over 100,000 and we will add them as we find them and as the new 2020 census becomes available..
The first number is the current spot the city is on the snow mountain last updated. The second number is where the city was at the end of the last season. We will be switching it to how the city started this season and then the current updated place as the cities receive snowfall totals.
This is where the Top Twenty Five Snowiest US Cities leading so far in the Golden Snow Globe Contest will be updated. Does your city have what it takes to stay in the top 25? All of the cities will be on a rolling system with only the top 25 snowiest cities here on the main page. That means that if your city is number 25 and another city passes yours, poof, your city is gone from this section. Can your city stay in the top twenty-five is the question? Our guess is that there will be some bouncing around especially at the beginning.
| Standings on 12/1 |
and Cities |
2010 City |
2024 – 2025 |
Average Snow |
| 1 | Erie, Pennsylvania |
101,786 |
27.2 |
9.7 |
| 2 | Anchorage, Alaska **** |
291,826 |
26.8 |
18.6 |
| 3 | Denver, Colorado ** |
600,158 |
23.3 |
??? |
| 4 | Colorado Springs, Colorado ** |
416,427 |
22.8 |
7.1 |
| 5 | Boulder, Colorado ** |
108,250 |
20.2 |
20.1 |
| 6 | Pueblo, Colorado ** |
106,595 |
13.1 |
6.2 |
| 7 | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
188,040 |
11.4 |
7.4 |
| 8 | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
113,934 |
5.5 |
4.2 |
| 9 | Fargo, North Dakota * |
105,549 |
4.6 |
8.0 |
| 10 | Billings, Montana ** |
104,170 |
3.9 |
11.3 |
| 11 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin * |
594,833 |
3.1 |
2.8 |
| 12 | Chicago, Illinois * |
2,695,598 |
2.9 |
2.0 |
| 13 | South Bend, Indiana |
101.168 |
2.9 |
5.3 |
| 14 | Spokane, Washington *** |
208,916 |
2.6 |
6.8 |
| 15 | Madison, Wisconsin * |
233,209 |
2.6 |
3.6 |
| 16 | Cincinnati, Ohio |
296,943 |
2.6 |
1.0 |
| 17 | Akron, Ohio |
199,110 |
2.4 |
3.6 |
| 18 | Lansing, Michigan |
114,297 |
2.4 |
4.1 |
| 19 | Green Bay, Wisconsin * |
104,057 |
2.2 |
3.4 |
| 20 | Dayton, Ohio |
141,527 |
2.1 |
1.0 |
| 21 | Detroit, Michigan |
713,777 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
| 22 | Flint, Michigan |
102,434 |
1.7 |
3.6 |
| 23 | Fort Collins, Colorado ** |
143,986 |
1.6 |
14.7 |
| 24 | Minneapolis, Minnesota * |
382,578 |
1.1 |
7.6 |
| 25 | Cleveland, Ohio |
396,815 |
1.1 |
4.6 |
Buffalo officially up to 118.3 inches after 2.2 inches fell yesterday…
barring a major spring storm looks like we are finally bringing it home again!
Buffalo is now up to 118.7 inches adding another 0.4 inches of snow today. Problem is, Syracuse added another 2.2 inches today to what fell on Sunday and closed the lead to just 4 inches now
Good Luck to Buffalo though!
I know…but looking at the forecast coming up through mid month it’s looking like Syracuse might have run out of time…temps in the mid 40′s-mid 60′s
It is snowing today! Don’t count us out! lol
Sault Sainte Marie, Mi 109 inches.
Population isn’t over 100,000.
Um, that town does not qualify to be listed because of the population. It has to be 100,000 or more people. Sault Ste. Marie is like 10 times LESS than 1000,000. It stands at 14,000 but I understand. They have quite a bit of snow this year. They would compete against Oswego, Pulaski, Redfield, (all in New York State-Tug Hill region) which would normally be 200 to 300 inches average per year.
And areas off Lake Erie like Ellicottville, Colden, Franklinville, etc where they get 200-250 inches a year normally too…
It has a population of 13K…if that’s the bar, there are places that size and bigger in NY with well over 200 inches right now.
Never mind that there’s supposedly places in Colorado that got over 400″. I’m trying to Google if that’s the most recorded in the States or the world for this season. Or if it’s even accurate.
Redfield NY got more snow than that in the month of December alone….last year they just missed 400 inches.
Made a little infographic
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10JrsbXA8QwSAZzYBap1qc8a80z8qChbA5x1w_XuKgqw/edit?usp=sharing
That is pretty cool Garrett
I’m sorry it took so long for me to see this 
I’m trying to think of a way that I can bring this into or onto the site, Garrett. Unfortunately I can’t pay you but it is pretty cool and of course, I would give you full credit and a plug if this is what you do for a living. Do you have it automated so that when I update the map updates or do you have to do it manually each time?
It’s alright, I’m a civil engineering designer by trade, GIS in my spare time
… Don’t worry about it! Feature if you want! It’s all automated!
Thanks, Garrett, I appreciate it and think it’s pretty cool
Very nice visual !!!
Erie PA is catching up
Come On Erie
Yes. Please. Love to lose big her in the Syracuse area. Pulling for you Erie….I would be happy to drop out of the top 25…
Buffalo starting to pull away! Up to 90 inches officially at the airport and its still snowing…what a last 10 days…almost 60 inches of snow…3 snowfall daily snowfall records broken…2 of which were over 100 years old, the other from 1966….and a blizzard to top it off with below 0 temps and -30+ degree wind chills…
I know i enjoyed it tuesday when i was up there now im in tennessee no snow here and about 50 deg warmer…lol
Now we are going to have to wory abou flooding because its supposed to be in the mid 40s to 50 for 3 or 4 days straight with rain….fun times! But at least it almost al should melt!
I was thinking about that Matt when I saw the warm-up coming. Stay safe and hopefully it doesn’t get too bad as far as flooding goes…
It’s been years since Buffalo has come out and played with some of us
But we still hold the all-time record for most snow for an city in the US with 100,000 or more people in it…even though Erie came tantalizingly close last year, they fell just short…
If you count surrounding area and subs Syracuse is huge and parts of the area get much more snow than is measured at the Airport. And we have a town in New York called Redfield that routinely gets 300 inches of snow a year, not to forget the Tug Hill.
I suspect that every city listed has towns or areas that get more snow but you must have one official source and point of reference. I have lived in the Utica,Rochester, Buffalo and currently Erie areas and I experienced these differences. For example, Erie’s true snow belt is approximately 10miles south of the official airport where the reading’s are taken.
Yes this is true…Buffalo’s snowbelt is south of the city. A city called Hamburg where the Erie County Fair is held each yeah about 15-20 minutes south gets about 150 inches a year and places south of there can get over 200 or 250 inches…
Tug Hill Plateau is pretty crazy…Redfield, Hookers Corner, Boonville, etc all get majorly dumped on…in large part because Lake Ontario is too deep to freeze most years. Lake Erie freeze over by late January almost every year shutting off the Lake Effect snow…
The Buffalo airport is actually in a place that doesnt get that much snow…I think it averages about 93 inches a yeah but in comparison to places south and eeven sometimes a few miles east, it doesn’t get a lot.
In the erie snow belt area we get about 200-250 inches per year
I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I keep track of snowfall near my house using measurements from a CoCoRaHs site (MI-WS-11). So far this season through 12/26/2018 that site has recorded just 0.1″ of total snow. The Global Snow Contest total for that period for Ann Arbor is 14.2″. That is a huge difference. As of 12/29/2018 we are up to 0.6″ at the CoCoRaHS site.
Any idea why the difference might be this large? Who takes the measurements you use for Ann Arbor? Where are the measurements taken? At the University of Michigan? At the Ann Arbor Airport (KARB)?
In addition to the 0.1″ CoCoRaHS has 13 days that it shows as T (Trace). But even if each of those were taken to be 0.1″, we’d only be up to 1.4″. As I understand things, the CoCoRaHS site only measures once a day around 7 a.m. I guess that depending on circumstances, that snow might melt or settle before it was measured. Still, this is a puzzle.
I missed up in my note above. Where it said 0.1″, that was 0.1″ in December through 12/26. The November plus December total is 4.7″ through 12/26 and 6.1″ through 12/30 at 7 am. The difference between 4.7″ and 14.2″ is still large and so the puzzle remains.
Hi JeffO, the only stats I can find on the National Weather Service are from the University of Michigan which are in the NOW DATA on the NWS website here https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=dtx. If you have some other links for Ann Arbor I would love you to share them with me. Are there legitimate snow measurements for the airport? There may be and I just haven’t found them. Thanks for bringing this up JeffO and let me know so I can correct it if I am wrong and it won’t be the 1st time BTW
Patrick!
If one can believe the map on the NOW DATA site, the “Ann Arbor, UofMich” location is out at the University’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens, which is about 4.3 miles ENE of the center of the city. In fact that location is just outside the city limits to the east.
The “Ann Arbor Municipal AP” site is 3.9 miles south of the city and strictly speaking the airport is outside the city limits, but only just outside. It really doesn’t matter since they don’t seem to record snowfall there.
From the NOW DATA site you can find some other locations in and around Ann Arbor where snowfall is recorded (View Map–>Show More Stations). Several of the sites shown are CoCoRaHS locations including the one that I use as well as some other sites marked with a blue push pin like the one for “Ann Arbor U of Mich” that I assume are not CoCoRaHS sites, but I don’t know what they really are.
One blue push pin site that records snowfall and is within the city limits is “Ann Arbor SE” which according to the map is 3.6 miles SE from the center of the city.
The CoCoRaHS site that I use (MI-WS-11, Ann Arbor 2.1 WNW) is within the city limits, about 1.5 miles from the center of the city.
Not sure that any of these sites are better than others for the purposes of the contest. The site you are using now may be the one that gives Ann Arbor its best shot in the Golden Snow Globe Contest.
First off JeffO thanks for the Great feedback
I’m surprised that the airport doesn’t keep the stats there but that is the case in several cities. It’s also not unusual for some of the airports to be just outside of the city limits which has always brought up some controversy. It comes down to having what the NWS says are official measurements with official equipment and proper training. I’m just curious as to if you are a student or professor at the UofMich and if they have a major in Meteorology? It seems like if the snow stats come from there, then they may have that as a major? Thanks again and maybe I will try getting in touch with the weather station there. The hardest thing for cities is trying to find, teach and get volunteers to do it. It’s a lot of work, time and dedication to those that don’t get paid to do it. Thanks, Patrick!
I’m a retired UofM staff member. I worked in the computer (IT) business back when I was working. Not a professor and no major in Meteorology. Don’t know any more about any of the weather sites around Ann Arbor beyond what I read online. In my retirement I am associated with a volunteer non-profit service called SnowBuddy that works to clear snow from 12 miles of public sidewalks in our neighborhood. And that has me looking at weather forecasts and snowfall history.
Dont worry Erie PA snow totals are taken in Millcreek PA at the airport. It doesnt make sense cause that storm of the century last year would of been way higher of a total had they actually took it in the city limits. West of Erie never gets nearly as much snow as the city or on the southern border of Erie. Snow totals would be significantly higher for most snow events if the measurement was taken where it should be taken.
This is common. Buffalo’s airport is outside of the snow belts that routinely get anywhere from 15-50+ inches a year more than is “officially reported”.
Since Lake Effect snow can vary greatly over a few miles with one place getting feet and the other a few inches or none at all, there really isn’t a “fair” place to put it. If the Airport was in South Buffalo or West Seneca it would register a lot more snow for us, if it was in North Buffalo or Tonawanda a lot less snow…where it is probably is a fair “average” of what Western New York gets but it varies pretty widely over the entire area.
Also as an aside, Erie shouldnt even be counted anymore as its population is under 100,000 now.
If they counted Hamburg,NY where the Erie County Fair is that has about 60K people they would win every year…they average 150+ inches a year
I am going to make an early prediction that this year will go to Syracuse. I’ve been watching the upper air patterns and the cold weather has been favoring central to eastern (Upstate) NY since December and appears to favor that same area through at least the middle of January. That may give them a lake effect lead that may carry them to the trophy…..
that’s fine with us in the erie area.
The new entry of Greensboro NC at #15 — very likely it just registered its peak position for the season.
Will you check Durham, NC & Winston-Salem, NC? I thought they beat out Raleigh but now I’m curious! Too many different sources
Hi Karen, there is a good chance that both cities may have beaten Raleigh, NC. I have been trying to find some official snow stats for 3 of the cities in NC with no luck so far. Official meaning snow stats from a certified measuring station with the National Weather Service
Erie PA is under 100k people now. Do you change the contest now?
This contest follows the official ten year census. If Erie is below 100K at that time then it will most likely be dropped despite the fact that the Erie area as a whole and inclusive of suburban areas is well over 150K.
I think there should be like a previous champions exemption…lol just like in the masters golf tournament if ya win ya get a 20yr exemption so since erie been a champion several times they exempt someone’s gotta keep Syracuse in check once in a while…lol
Yes, actually the metro area population for Erie is just over 280,000. I. E. – city and suburbs. So people have moved out of the city to the suburbs but the area is still about the same. Not sure it matters…but for what it’s worth.
Well the reporting station for erie is at the airport which is not in erie it’s in millcreek township which surrounds erie on 3 sides the 4th side being the lake. those that live in millcreek aren’t counted as erie resident for census but thier address is listed as erie pa not millcreek
Millcreek borders Erie on SW and SE, Lawrence Park, Wesleyville, Harborcreek are to the NE. The population of Millcreek alone is 55K, larger than the city of Harrisburg. And since the Erie measurements are actually taken in Millcreek, Millcreek should be the one in the contest, but then they don’t meet the 100K criteria…
It gets even more convoluted because I believe that the airport is considered as city of Erie property despite being located in Millcreek. But…The contest still follows the 10 year census so in fairness to all that should remain the guide until / unless the rules change, I am sure that Erie, and I am an Erie resident, is not unique in its situation…..
Dropping Erie from this contest would be like dropping Green Bay from the NFL just because it is too small. Sometimes, you just need to let tradition take precedent over official rules.
erie pa has 101k people living here
So what do the asterisks behind some of the totals mean? Behind some of the names?
Hi Jeff, you can just ignore the asterisks. Those are just a reminder for me that some cities only post once a day so I can get a jump on the updates each day and update those cities early
Oh GoldenSnowGlobe,
How thankful are we,
for what do I see,
the flakes have found me,
In first place (again) in the Salt City!
Temporary condition…
It was temporary but I loved it E
Just a heads up all. I do read all of your comments on here but I wanted to point out that we have a FaceBook group for both of the snow contests that I tend to comment on more. If interested you can check it out and join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/861746940543642/
Technically Erie doesn’t even qualify for this anymore and didn’t qualify last year either. Population as of 2017 has dropped to a little over 97,000, which disqualifies it from this competition.
If we aren’t following the rules start putting places in New York like Ellicottville, Perrysburg, Colden off Lake Erie and places like Boonsville, Highmarket, Pulaski, and Redfield off of Lake Ontario that get 300+ inches routinely…
The person who runs this site goes off the last census population. It would take them weeks/months to get all populations from cities or towns from across the nation. Erie will be removed when they take another census in 2020; No reason to get mad at the person who runs this site. Im pretty sure its a one man/woman show! Hopefully Erie can break the 200 inch record by 2020 for city with most snow!
Vinnie, pretty much covered it, Matt. Right now the only official population stats are the 2010 census. Everything else are just estimates. Thanks Vinnie
In answer to Matt…Erie’s snowfall total is actually taken at the Erie Airport in Millcreek Township – outside the city of Erie limits Millcreek Township surrounds the city limits of Erie . Anybody who lives in Erie will tell you that Millcreek and Erie have melted together into one urban area. I’m quite sure that if you take the Erie and Millcreek population together we’re well above 100K mark. That said , I’m writing this right now from my parents cabin – 25 south of Boonville, NY where we have gotten at least 25″ in the last three days. For a person who hates snow I sure have lived in some snowy places!!
Different year/same gripe. Sorry, Matt, for officially, if not technically, winning last winter. We’ll be out of your hair in 2020…and by the way, most of us here in the not-so-Big E, SERIOUSLY, would rather be in 50th place in this contest.
Speak for yourself
Nothing like a nice winter hike with or without snowshoes. Seriously….So quiet and beautiful in the forest when there is snow cover…..
Woohooo erie starting off right 13″ top of the pile again. Will we make a run at 200 again this year
Yep, we baaaaack……….
Let’s make that we’re baaack! I hate auto correct
I like the we back….. sounded savage
The beginning of another season. WOO!
The NWS arbitrarily lowered the snowfall totals for Erie PA. I believe that we still will retain first place, albeit by a much smaller range.
The major issue was the amount of snow believed to have actually fallen during the Christmas storms. As someone in the weather business at a semi professional level I will say this……I did not personally see 5 feet of snow anywhere. But as someone involved with the weather as a volunteer emergency responder, I can say that based upon my own observations along with photographs that I saw of undrifted areas…..Snow up to within a few inches of the top of 4 foot fences….I firmly believe that CLE’s estimate of only 32 inches falling is way too low. 42 – 45 inches is a much more realist figure and, given that the ground was warm with rain up to the very first day of this event…..The snow pack was melting and compacting from underneath from the moment that the first snow started to accumulate…..Even my guestimate may be a little low.
There are other legitimate questions being raised by those who generated the snow reports about how the NWS reached their determination and criticism leveled at those observers, but I am going to leave that alone for our purposes here.
Given that this contest does follow the NWS reporting, the Moderator may wish to review the revised numbers for Erie and make the necessary adjustments.
I did make all of the changes, Alan and Thanks
I feel bad for Erie.
Patrick….A local media outlet with a very good…Let’s make that excellent….Group of meteorologists dissected the NWS decision. The decision was made by a group of people from multiple NWS offices, only ONE of which deals with lake effect snow, which is what this event was. The one NWS office that DOES deal with lake effect snow (Cleveland) fully supported the Erie numbers based upon all available information. The also interviewed local plow drivers who operated in the vicinity of the Erie airport. The bottom line…..As I alluded to in my original comments…..Erie was robbed on this one. 32 inches was an absolute joke. Personally and with years of providing weather support for our local emergency services….my guess of 45 inches is probably on the money if not a bit low. It doesn’t change the way you track the numbers of course, but I thought it worth mentioning just for grins and giggles.
J ust watched the news! They just subtracted some of Erie’s snow for the season ?????? WHATS UP WITH THAT ?????
Billings, Montana had snow on April 23, 2018 & broke it’s record for snowiest season. We are currently at 106.1″ for the season. Here, we count seasons from July to the end of the following June … because it’s been known to snow in June.
Congrats to all of you in Billings, MT, Marie. A seasonal record is hard to break
All of the cities snow totals count from July 1st – June 30th. If it snows, it’s counted 
LOL. There is one inland area of Erie County that has actually had snow fall in July. Now that would not be “official” snow as measured at the NOAA office, but it did happen rare as it may be. In that particular area of the county they consider spring as arriving when the children’s swing sets start to emerge from the melting snow. It is one of the highest areas of the county so it does get colder than anywhere else.
Erie may get yet ANOTHER shot at Buffalo’s title. Snow may fall even at the airport this weekend. We’ll see. May not be cold enough to change to all snow and accumulate. Have to say though….Winter is NOT going away quietly or without a fight.
Snow is done for the year. You guys came close but fell tantlizingly short
That’s awesome, you guys have been getting hammered the last few years.
Buffalo still hanging on by a thread to the most seasonal snowfall of any city greater than 100K people in US History at 199.4 inches….
With warm up coming looks like we may hold off Erie…
I’m afraid u may be right Matt oh so close , but I don’t care to see it have again .
Well, Erie is making one more run at eclipsing Buffalo’s all time record this week, but I think we’ll fall tantalizingly close but short. Many of the migratory birds have returned and they are sitting up in the trees and you can almost see the “what the…? look on their faces as heavy snow falls.
There is not a chance in hell that Erie’s population is still over 100k.
We won’t know until the 2020 census, Patrick. I still have to go by the official 2010 census and not the estimates
I don’t know, AJ. I’m seeing about 4 more inches right now with more in sight. This could be history in the making.
Technically it is Spring so the winter season is over. Any snowfall now should be counted for the 2018 – 2019 season..
So, you’re saying that Fall is the only non-Winter season that should be counted as part of the “Winter season?” Interesting…
Among other reasons, to keep it consistent with the way it’s been recorded in the past, the current way certainly seems best.
https://www.facebook.com/funintheUP/videos/1580414345391231/
Oh boy it’s not over yet for Erie chances of snow late this week and all through next week can Erie break the 199.5 inch mark!
At this point from what I see in the extended forecast I think the chances for Erie to hit the 200-inch mark are slim very very slim I think it’s about over
I agree with Kimberly. Possible but not likely. Long term upper air temps do not look conducive to more snow down the road, so whatever we get between now (April 5th) and the middle to end of next week may be all that we receive for the season. Now we do have a 10% chance of receiving more than 4 inches of snow on both Saturday and Sunday….We’ll see……
Everyone says they are tired of the snow , I say let’s go all the way and who knows we may be rewarded with non-existent snow fall for 2018-2019 season.
I grew up in Erie and Edinboro (for those who aren’t in the know, Edinboro is a small resort/college town about 20 minutes south of Erie and most years gets more snow than Erie), and I am missing the snow too. I know that Edinboro got a good deal of snow last night, so maybe Erie got enough to surpass the record? Were totals from last night included in this week’s update? #alwaysrootingforerie
The totals at the airport were much less where our measurements are taken…. unfortunately cause if you went anywhere else in the city they got 4 to 5 inches we would be at 195 ish right now
Its the same in Buffalo…airport is oitside the main snow belts. If it wasnt the record would be well over 200 inches likely.
I would like to just say i now have no regrets leaving erie and moving back to Arizona. I still find it amusing to follow this site. I do love snow but omgosh erie I feel so bad for you. To bad i cant send some of this nice warm sunshine your way. Im gonna bet this winter will be a hard one to beat in the future.
I just wanted to say Thanks to everyone that has been commenting here and keeping it civil
I haven’t been able to comment or reply as much as I used to in the past. That said, we do have a Facebook Page that you may not know of. It’s a good group of people from all over the country and a mix of both men and women. I know a few of you that post here are already members. Anyways, check it out at https://www.facebook.com/groups/861746940543642/
Thank YOU, Patrick for all your hard work. Much appreciated.
You were mentioned in a related article from The Buffalo News:
http://buffalonews.com/2018/03/13/sean-kirst-epic-buffalo-record-at-stake-as-erie-eyes-200-inches-of-snow/
Keep it up, proud of you!
~ Bob Sanders
A little late Bob but Thanks, I appreciate that
Sean Kirst has always been good to me and is probably the main reason the NY snow contest started back up again 
He, along with other news media including the Buffalo News has played a big part in letting people know about our fun little snow contest. I enjoy doing it 
Erie on the move again. Currently passing up Syracuse’s 2nd snowiest ever (192 and some change) and making a run at Buffalo’s all time best (199.4″) . Last chance for greatness before the 2020 census disqualifies us. I despise snow, but I’d like to go out with a bang.
Erie is at 191.5 this last update Pat. It could be a matter of just hours when Erie knocks off Syracuse on their little adventure to hit 200 inches.
I work as a volunteer weather consultant / specialist for the Erie County EMA, so I watch the weather patterns all the time. The big warm up for this weekend and at least the first half of next week has been…Canceled for the lack of a better word. As long as it stays cold enough to stay snow instead of rain or a rain / snow mix I think we have a shot at it. The pattern looks to be unstable enough for occasional flurries and light snow and with the lake almost 90% ice free and all ice free to our west and north….Lake effect / enhancement is on the table. We could see another two inches over the next 24 hours at the NWS reporting station and then a break over the weekend before additional shots at snowfall from late Monday onward. We’ll see…..
Whoops! Jumping the gun here. We got more south-center of town than at the airport…the nature of the snow bands. Thought we took silver away from Syracuse, but not today.
number is going up for erie just had a band but now its sunny lol another inch to the total
Is there an end date for the 2018 contest? Or is it just over when the snow finally ends?
It’s pretty much when the snow stops falling and I feel comfortable with calling it, Brian. The way this season is going I think it will be called earlier than normal unless something changes really soon
I really thought that Syracuse would make a good run at us, and they did close the gap to around 40 inches at one point. But….The snow just kept falling here as well. “If” the snow this week falls at the upper end of the spread we could get close to 200 by the end of the week. I think we have a shot at 200, but the odds are against us……Looking at the long range 800MB temps…..We all might get one last shot at some snow around 03/25 – 03/29 or thereabouts……
Have to say that this was a traditional Erie winter as I remember it from my youth with snow cover for much if not most of the winter season. Had a bit of a late start but once it came it hung around…..
Global warming? Or not, does anyone want some snow
We have had our fill in Erie
As a resident of Syracuse, I am MORE than happy to let someone else win this season. Enjoy the win, Erie. I hope anyways. Winter doesn’t end here until sometime in May.
As a Native of Erie who experienced many record winters and snowfalls, I am in awe of the current inhabitants! — and chagrined that Greater Cleveland, where I now reside, is not even up to par for its average season-to-date snowfall. Part of the problem is that our airport & NWS are on the “dry” side of town. Here in the Eastern Suburbs (Shaker/Beachwood) I have measured 75″ to date vs. 44.5″ at Hopkins Airport. We typically get 50% more snow here. Could we move the weather station?
Trust me there are places in Erie that get more snow than our airport.
Erie airport is where our weather station is located we also get more snow in other areas 200.4 in summit a Erie suburb.
I agree Craig,I know the year Erie recorded the old record,149+ Edinboro was over 200 inches.
At this point we tip our hats to Erie PA for top snowfall. Trust me, we don’t want to even attempt to get there this year. lol Still, I’m happy we’re probably going to get the Golden Snowball for the state title; I’m good with that.
I planted 76 5′ pines 4 years ago. Have attempted to save them but these last two wet heavy snows have done them in. The ground got soft when the Christmas snow melted. I don’t think there are 10 left standing. Record or not I can’t wait for the snow to end.
Well 186 inches just 14 more to get to 200 i think its in the bag we got this………..*
What’s the record?
For Erie it was 149.1,we blew that away a while back
Love to see all cities. My sister said they got 6 feet the other day in Lake Tahoe.
Just guessing at this…..There are many small communities that receive a lot more snow. Being all inclusive would be a daunting task considering the sheer number plus setting some type of criteria as to who and how snowfall is measured. Using the NWS reporting stations located in the larger communities overcomes those hurdles. Yet even that is not accurate. Normally for Erie County….The inland areas might see 250 to 300 inches of snow a year. Since the Erie Airport and NWS station are located along the lake shore, that snow would not be recorded and would not count here. This year, that one single storm changed everything. For comparison’s sake….A few years ago Buffalo received 7 feet of snow in a lake effect event. But since the airport was located outside of that event and received only a few inches of snow, virtually none of that 7 feet was counted in the contest.
So…Not a perfect system, but there is no way to have a perfect system that would be all inclusive…..
There really isn’t a perfect system and this is about as good as it can get, Alan. There are way too many small towns and cities to keep track of and most of them don’t have measuring stations that the National Weather Service would consider official. There are a lot of great weather spotters out there but even most of their snow stats aren’t considered official unless they are using the NWS tools or they are similar. The airport locations are something I stopped talking about around 500 posts and emails ago. It is what it is and at least most of the Big cities have one. A few of them don’t. A good post though Alan
If the airport got what we have here, about 2 miles south…..Erie total will climb a bit today
The drive for 175 is in full swing now,….
Passed the drive for 175 @178.6 as of today. On to 200? Just doesn’t seem possible but St. Patrick’s Day has been historically a good snow day for Erie
NWS Cleveland just released an 11.2″ number from the EIA. Think we’re at 167.7
I’m with you Don, out at Colts Station the weather watcher for Cleveland NWS has 195 inches.
Lucky it has to be a population above a certain amount. REDFIELD NY looks at Erie PA and says “Hold my Beer!” 350 inches
LOL. Oh yeah, plenty of places that receive more than us and probably even more than your area. I think they set the population limit to keep it from getting out of control (How do you handle counting everyone) and also for the increased misery index when the heavier snows hit larger communities. Rural folks / smaller communities tend to be more self sufficient and carry on
Sadly, Erie may not be allowed to compete after the next census. Our population is declining, and we are already at the edge of eligibility.
Painesdale, MI. 220 inches.
I remember when we got 179 inches in Syracuse a few years ago. It was pretty crazy….but not that different from the usual. A few really rough weeks. Erie will be fine.
Oh yea. The 5+ feet as interesting, but the timing from a safety and cleanup perspective could not have been better. A holiday so the Interstates were empty of traffic, schools closed, and businesses already closed. Had it been a normal day things would have been MUCH different. Stranded school buses. Stranded motorists on the Interstates and probably a lot of accidents up there. The afternoon drive time a complete disaster with vehicles stuck and abandoned everywhere. We were really VERY lucky in regard to the timing. The only real issue we had was that we had to bring in military ambulances (HumVee variants) to provide the initial emergency medical responses for a few days because the conventional paramedic vehicles didn’t have a prayer of getting there. That and it took most businesses a day or two to get opened up. It took is two days to get the service department open using two front end loaders and tandem axle dump bodies. It took two weeks to get the entire Dealership open. Overall though….As long as we had the brief warm ups that we had to melt off some of the snow all was good. It it had stayed cold with no melting we would have been in deep trouble (pun definitely intended).
It is official. As of this morning Erie PA is now in the bonus round as we have officially broken the seasonal snowfall record. 175 inches by the end of the season is very possible. 200 inches…We’d need a few more decent storms after this week’s expected foot to get there, but it is not outside of the realm of possibilities. A lot may depend upon how long a warm up that will start next week and really kick in a few days later actually lasts….
Us in Girard ” Erie county ” are excited to see what is to come… I can’t speak for everyone, hell I may be alone. But I’m from the south and I love every flake we get.
Alright, I was 3 days late with the snow, but like our pal Phil, I predicted the Eagles would win and we would hit our snowiest season ever mark. Anyway, I’m still thinking 200 inches will be the number we get to since we always get a decent St. Patrick’s Day storm. 175 inches seems too whimpy to me!! HA! HA!
Heck yeah 48″ to go to 200
OH MY GOD OUR LEAD IS DOWN TO 57″ THE HORROR…..LOL
So I predict, like our beloved Phil, that on Sunday, Feb 4…Philadelphia Eagles will win finally the Super Bowl and Erie will beat or tie by midnight that day the 149.2 inch season record. Anyone else willing to predict these 2 golden events??? HA! HA!
I like that prediction! Go Eagles and Erie!
Looks like today’s snow put Erie within striking distance of a new snow record. They are up to 146.1 as of this afternoon. Only three inches to go!
Might have that Erie record this morning
All if that lead is from maybe one storm.
Yes, a large chunk of it and yes, it was epic.
I am from Erie! its not over until its over, I’ve seen Syracuse pass us up before when just when I thought we had it locked up. I love snow.. but I am so over it now.. Good Luck all..
Is there a type for flint michigan? it says 232 for normal snow to date, i feel like that should be 23.2
There was Snowdog and I’m pretty sure it will happen again. I will normally catch it on the next update though. Love the name BTW
I like these warm-ups we’re getting lately really helps melt away the snow problem and raise a flood problem. I have never seen snow like we had in Erie for a long time. Mounds of snow are still remaining after both warm-ups.
I’m from Erie, you guys just want to concede now? lol
Ha, NEVER. OK, not yet anyways Paul. Too much winter left
On Monday, Jan 29th, they are talking 6-8 inches of snow for us folks in Erie. When we hit 149.4 I believe, this will become our snowiest season on record. I think we’re going to hit the 200 mark. Syracuse, please just step aside and let us show you how it’s done!! HA! HA!
HA to Syracuse stepping aside. Never Kaleen
Erie needs to hit 149.2 inches to break the record. I’m guessing that will be broken by the end of this week. 200 inches is a whole other story and if that happens I will be super impressed. Both Buffalo and Syracuse came close but it didn’t happen. Good Luck 
I don’t see it either Pat. At one time the Lake was 95% frozen over, down somewhere between 50 and 60 per cent now, but even with that much open water I don’t think there will be enough lake effect to get near the 200 inch mark. I’ll go out on a limb and say maybe between 165-175 inches total for the season.
I think you are going to be pretty close Paul. I’m thinking about 167.0 to pick an exact number but I like your numbers
Seriously Kaleen, ole’ Pat here needs to stop ranking professionals with amateurs.
AGREED
Any of this being updated I see the left side above rankings is last update 9 days ago?
Now 1/17 &
Last Update 1/9
Maybe someone taking a much needed snow-break, lol
Hi Robert, the first date is the most current date that the snow stats have been updated which is every day this season other than once or twice when I actually had some kind of life going, lol. The second date is kind of a comparison of where the cities were on that date and just to show whether the cities are moving up or down. I hope that makes sense.
2 straight days of unexpected lake snows adding about a foot to Buffalo’s totals…
Buffalo made up quite a bit of snow and is closing in on Rochester right now. Less than 3 inches behind as of the last couple of updates
Can’t seem to quite make it, haha!
I hear ya, Rick! It just happened again. Buffalo got to less than 3 inches away from Rochester and as of today, it’s around 5 inches.
We had around 10″ overnight here in the best city of snow Buffalo, NY
Looking at about 16 inches overnight in Rochester. (Jan 13 2018)
We had about 9” overnight in Erie. Closing in on the record and it’s still early January. Bring it!! ❄️❄️❄️ Lol!
As a lifelong resident of Erie, 67+ years, we are taking all of this snow in stride. Personally I am hoping for a record annual snow fall. I think we have less than 19 inches to go and it is snowing now. Got my three extra sump pumps ready for the thaw this week. Happy winter folks.
Burned one out myself with our 1st thaw, went from 1/3hp to 3/4hp.
Soaked the mailman when we had our last thaw, he walked right into it
As a life long Syracusan, I am happy to not be in the lead this year.
That being said, I wouldn’t wish the amount of snow Erie has gotten this year on anyone. I know they can deal with it, just like we can. But its still a huge pain in the butt sometimes.
Stay strong PA friends.
We are making a comeback though Mike
I agree with you about not wishing that much snow in that short of time on anyone 
I told folks not to count Syracuse out yet. Lake Ontario is only 13% ice covered. Lake Erie should open up a bit this week with the expected warm up, rain, and winds…..Here in Erie we’ere shooting for the all time record now…..
Thank you Mike,
I use to like the friendly competition between Erie and Syracuse, but as you know when there is a large snowfall the next thing we have to deal with is flooding. We have a rapid warm-up coming week there will be a day or two near 50 and of course rain. Yikes! Best wishes to all.
Same here this warm up later this week may create a mess in Syracuse as well. Overall as long as people are safe I’m ready for the warm up.
We’ve had burst pipes on my street etc, luckily all is good at my house, but some people had the water company with diggers in their front yards on Sunday…
Got to love the North East…