snow contest

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A New King of The Snow Mountain

Posted by Patrick on November 5, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , , , , .

The cold air has finally hit quite a few of the states now but it’s still the Colorado cities taking control of the national snow contest. Remember, only cities with a population of 100,000 or more are on the list.

Fort Collins, Colorado jumped ahead of Lakewood to take the top spot in the snowiest city in the US but only by a couple of snowflakes. Being the beginning of the snow season that’s about all that any of the cities are showing right now is just a few flakes here and there. A few things did stand out this last update though. Erie, Pa is now on the snowboard, Anchorage, Alaska still doesn’t have any measurable snow and a lot more cities are showing at least a trace of snow compared to the last update.

Anchorage normally would be leading right about now averaging 9.6 inches for this time in the season. Right now they are only showing a trace and aren’t even in the top 10. Remember they have been the only city since we started keeping stats to dethrone Syracuse, NY as the snowiest US city. I’m still in the process of moving but what will be cool is when I get hooked up and start watching one of my favorite shows, Gold Rush Alaska, I/We already know that they are going to have a lot better start this season and shouldn’t have to move a ton of snow before they start digging for gold ;)

Then there is that pesty Erie, Pa and I say that affectionately toward those of you from Erie :) Erie made the snow contest fun last season and were one of a couple of cities who came just inches away from taking the glory and bragging rights away from Syracuse, NY, My hometown just in case you didn’t know. Well Erie is on the snowboard now with a few tenths of an inch of snow and as always they are one of the cities that always worry me along with Worcester, Anchorage and a couple others. They should make it fun again for the new 2013 – 2014 snow season.

Another thing that caught my attention was that as of the last update we only had 12 cities showing any measurable snow or at least a trace of snow. This update we have 36 cities with at least a trace or more. I think we may be seeing a lot of lead changes this season and as always the bragging rights to snowiest big city in the US are up for grabs.

Just a heads up that we are going to be dropping a few cities out of the lineup in the next several days. It’s obvious that some of the cities don’t have a chance and we would like to get it down to around 40 – 50 cities. If you want to defend why your city should be listed here then now s the time. I’ve left a few in just because it was interesting to see that cities like Albuquerque, NM do get some snow each season but it’s getting a little too time consuming each update. I think the first 2 cities we need to drop is Worcester, Mass and Erie :) Joking of course! That said if you know of a city that isn’t listed but gets some decent snow and they are not on here then feel free to let us know. Keep in mind the population needs to be at least 100,000 as of the last census.

OK, enough for now and you all Have a Super Night and as always, “See Snow – Drive Slow” unless on a sled of course ;)

Erie and Syracuse Battling for Second Snowiest City

Posted by Patrick on March 17, 2013
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , , , .

First Off Thank You Philip G. for your donation. All of the donations really do help out a lot so don’t be afraid to click on that donate button :P .

Just did a Full Update – and Sorry about the lack of updates but my grandson who is 4 1/2 months old was in town for a week and well my buddy trumps snow ;) Born in South Carolina but no doubt he will bleed Orange, Syracuse Orange that is :)

Worcester, MA continues to rule the top of the snow mountain with a pretty good lead but don’t count Erie or Syracuse out of this seasons snow contest yet. Both cities are slowly inching their way closer to Worcester’s snow totals and there is still enough cold air around for one of the cities to make a charge.

Even though it didn’t show in the stats there was a quick flip flop for second place. Yesterday Erie, PA slipped past Syracuse, NY by a couple of tenths of an inch to take over the number two spot. Well for a little while anyways. With the last update from the National Weather Service Syracuse was able to take over 2nd place again by just 1 tenth of an inch over Erie. Right now there’s a pretty good snowball fight going on for second place between the two. Snow is in the forecast so the next couple of days will be interesting.

More to come but it’s almost time for the NCAA Brackets. Good Luck!

2009-10 Golden SnowDown: 1-50

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on April 27, 2010
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

At last, it’s time to reveal the top 50 NWS reporting stations.

Rankings 11-50
Rank Location City Population Season Snowfall
11 Burlington, VT 38,889 91.0
12 Rochester, NY 219,773 89.6
13 Cheyenne, WY 53,011 87.3
14 Mansfield, OH 49,579 84.1
15 Binghamton, NY 47,380 81.4
16 Bluefield, VA 5,078 81.1
17 Philadelphia, PA 1,517,550 78.7
18 Pittsburgh, PA 334,563 77.4
19 Baltimore, MD 651,154 77.0
20 Youngstown, OH 82,026 75.7
21 Buffalo, NY 292,648 74.1
22 Cold Bay, AK 74 74.0
23 Muskegon, MI 40,105 73.6
24 Washington (Dulles), DC 572,059 73.2
25 Wilmington, DE 72,664 72.7
26 Scottsbluff, NE 14,732 72.4
27 Grand Rapids, MI 197,800 72.2
28 Caribou, ME 8,312 69.6
29 Des Moines, IA 198,682 69.0
30 Sault Ste. Marie, MI 16,542 68.8
31 Casper, WY 49,644 64.9
32 Worcester, MA 172,648 64.6
33 Akron, OH 217,074 63.1
34 Juneau, AK 30,711 62.2
35 Charleston, WV 53,421 61.3
35 Duluth, MN 86,918 61.3
37 Valley, NE 1,788 60.6
38 Anchorage, AK 260,283 60.5
39 North Platte, NE 23,878 60.2
40 Sioux City, IA 8,2807 59.8
40 Allentown, PA 106,632 59.8
42 Cleveland, OH 478,403 59.5
43 Sisseton, SD 2,572 59.3
44 Denver, CO 554,636 58.8
45 Watertown, SD 20,237 58.6
46 Riverton, WY 9,310 58.4
47 Atlantic City, NJ 40,517 58.1
48 Harrisburg, PA 48,950 57.3
48 South Bend, IN 107,789 57.3
50 Sioux Falls, SD 123,975 57.1

You didn’t believe I’d just reveal the top 10 that way, did you? Big surprise for me among the 40 listed is Cheyenne, WY almost cracking the top 10, coming in 13th. A little humorous to me is Cold Bay Alaska, population 74, has 74 inches, one inch per person. Probably won’t see that again any time soon. Now, here are the top 10:

10. Ely, NV: 91.1
Ely’s population is 4,041 and just snuck in ahead of Burlington, VT and has the most snow among the Nevada cities.

9. Erie, PA: 91.4
Erie, population 103,717, the 2nd place city among those with population over 100,000 comes in 9th among all NWS sites.

8. Lander, WY: 102.4
Lander, population 6,867, has the most snow among Wyoming sites.

7. Elkins, WV: 104.7
Elkins, population 7,032, is 7th overall, but is 2nd among West Virginia stations.

6. Syracuse, NY: 106.1
Syracuse, with a population of 147,036, having the most snow among cities with population over 100,000, is 6th place.

5. Yakutat, AK: 107.1
Yakutat, population 680, is the top city among those with population under 1,000.

4. Beckley, WV: 132.9
Beckley’s population is 17,254 and has the most snow among West Virginia sites.

3. Flagstaff, AZ: 141.8
As mentioned in the previous post, Flagstaff, with population 52,894 is not the top city, but does have the most among cities with a population of 50,000 or more.

2. Marquette, MI: 145.6
Marquette, population 19,661, has the most snow among those with a population of 5,000 or more and is in 2nd place overall.

1. Valdez, AK: 293.3
Valdez, population 4,036, with almost 300 inches of snow, claims the top spot among all NWS sites.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this countdown for the season among all NWS sites. Remember, all snowfall data is from early April, and population statistics are from the most recent estimates available from city-data.com.

Have a great week everyone!

2009-10 Golden SnowDown: 51-100

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on April 25, 2010
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

As we are closer to revealing the season’s snowiest National Weather Service stations, here are the ones that fell in the 51-100 ranking range.

Rankings 51-100
Rank Location City Population Season Snowfall
51 Washington (Reagan), DC 572,059 56.1
52 Bangor, ME 31,473 55.7
53 Norfolk, NE 23,516 55.0
54 Chicago, IL 2,896,016 54.2
55 Bismark, ND 55,532 54.1
56 Islip, NY 20,575 53.8
57 Blacksburg, VA 39,573 53.6
58 Waterloo, IA 68,747 52.8
59 Rochester, MN 85,806 52.5
60 Kodiak, AK 6,334 52.0
61 Concord, NH 42,255 51.8
62 New York (Central Park), NY 8,008,278 51.4
63 Great Falls, MT 56,690 51.0
63 Billings, MT 89,847 51.0
65 Rockford, IL 150,115 50.7
65 Madison, WI 208,054 50.7
67 Huron, SD 11,893 50.6
67 Columbus, OH 711,470 50.6
69 Jackson, KY 2,490 50.5
70 Elko, NV 16,708 50.3
71 Davenport, IA 98,359 50.1
72 Scranton, PA 76,415 48.5
73 Mitchell, SD 14,558 48.0
74 Newark, NJ 273,546 47.9
75 Omaha, NE 390,007 47.6
76 Grand Forks (University), ND 49,321 47.3
77 New York (LaGuardia), NY 8,008,278 47.2
78 Moline, IL 43,088 46.9
79 Fargo, ND 90,599 46.6
80 International Falls, MN 6,703 46.4
81 Hastings, NE 24,064 45.5
82 Chanhassen, MN 20,321 45.4
82 Albany, NY 95,658 45.4
84 Flint, MI 124,943 45.1
85 King Salmon, AK 442 44.7
86 Grand Island, NE 42,940 44.5
87 Kansas City, MO 441,545 44.3
88 Detroit, MI 951,270 43.7
89 Alpena, MI 11,304 43.5
90 Nome, AK 3,505 43.4
90 Pierre, SD 13,876 43.4
92 Dubuque, IA 57,686 43.3
93 Mobridge, SD 3,574 43.2
94 Roanoke, VA 94,911 43.1
95 Green Bay, WI 102,313 43.0
96 Lansing, MI 119,128 42.6
97 Mason City, IA 29,172 42.5
98 Peoria, IL 112,936 42.4
99 Rhinelander, WI 7,735 42.3
100 Lincoln, NE 225,581 41.6

Albany, having the least snow among the Golden Snowball cities, is in a tie for 82nd place in the country. It’s also a bit interesting to see the differences among cities with multiple reporting stations. For example, New York City’s Central Park station is in 62nd place, while La Guardia in 77th and JFK was on the previous post at 101. Grand Forks’ North Dakota University station is in 76th but the airport was 134th. Washington, DC’s Reagan is 51st, with Dulles yet to be revealed. Just goes to show how much difference a few miles can make. That is the beauty, and the beast, of the system.

In the final update, the top 50 will be shown. Who is #1? It’s not Syracuse, NY…or Flagstaff, AZ.

2009-10 Golden SnowDown: 101-150

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on April 23, 2010
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

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!

2009-10 Golden SnowDown: 151-200

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on April 21, 2010
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

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.

2009-10 Golden SnowDown: 201-252

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on April 17, 2010
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

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.

2009-10 Golden SnowDown: An Introduction

Posted by GSG Fantasy Snowfall on April 14, 2010
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , , .

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. :)

The Golden Snow Globe Contest – Snowiest City in the United States

Posted by Patrick on November 13, 2009
Posted in: All US Snow Cities. Tagged: , , .

Which big city with a population of 100,000 or more will be the snowiest city in the United States this snow season?  Only time and a lot of snow will tell.  Welcome to the new Golden Snow Globe website. Consider this the Grand opening of the site even though it isn’t even close to being ready.  Things that will be updated on here soon will be which city is leading so far, the top ten snowiest cities to date and more. The reason for opening up shop early is to get some suggestions and feedback from visitors here. Maybe lay down some rules that haven’t been set in stone, err snow yet and get this bad boy rolling.

Why the name golden snow globe? Perhaps down the road we can make this contest global. I looked into it and I honestly don’t see it happening for the reason of trying to get official and honest stats from some countries. I do see us bringing Canada into the contest hopefully as soon as next season though which will just add to the fun in my opinion. They have a few cities that are right up there with the best of us when it comes to snow.

What’s the Golden Snow Globe about in a sentence? Fun, bragging rights as the 2009 – 20010 snowiest US city and some kind of trophy, prize or whatever we come up with for the winning city at the end of the snow season.

Some of you may have heard of the Golden Snowball Contest and most likely if you don’t live in New York State you haven’t heard of it.  It’s a contest between 5 cities in NY that compete for a beautiful trophy and more importantly bragging rights to being the snowiest city in upstate – central NY.  The 5 cities include Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.  To give you an idea about that contest check out goldensnowball.com.

Well consider that contest and multiply it by lots. Lots of cities in lots of different states across the US. After doing a little research a few of the states that look to have some cities that will definitely make this a pretty competitive snow contest include Colorado, Pennsylvania, the Great State of New York (Yeah, I’m a little bias toward NY) Alaska, Michigan and several others.

Beer (Bud Please) with us as we gather and post the snow stats in the next couple of days here at goldensnowglobe . com. Will mistakes be made? You betcha and that’s a promise and probably lots of them so feel free if you see something to let us know about it. More importantly your suggestions and feedback aren’t only welcome here we encourage it :)

As for the rules we like to use official stats and those stats come from NOAA, the national weather service. Population must be over 100,000 and we can all discuss when we want the end date to be.

I’m also hoping to get some guest posters here whether it’s a local meteorologist from your city, journalists, the abominable snowman or who ever we can trick into posting. It should be an interesting and most likely problem filled fun first year.

That’s about all for now but stay tuned because things should be getting updated here constantly in the next couple of days. If I were a betting man, which I am by the way (Shhhh) my bet would be going on a city in Colorado that’s most likely leading the snow contest right now.

Hey,Have a Super Day All!