5 Snowiest Places in the US 2026: Ranked by Annual Snowfall
The 5 snowiest places in the US, ranked by annual inches. Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Alta, Valdez, and Mount Washington lead the list by a huge margin.
Quick Reference
- #1 snowiest place in the US: Paradise Ranger Station, Mount Rainier, Washington. 671 inches (nearly 56 feet) of snow a year.
- US single-winter record: Mount Baker, Washington, 1998-1999. 1,140 inches (95 feet).
- Snowiest town in the US: Alta, Utah. 583 inches a year, population under 400, altitude 8,950 feet.
- East-coast champion: Mount Washington, New Hampshire. 282 inches of snow and one of the windiest places on Earth.
- Ranked by: average annual snowfall from long-run NOAA / NWS climate data.
Mount Rainier’s Paradise Ranger Station collects 671 inches of snow a year, which works out to nearly 56 feet, making it the snowiest place in the United States by seasonal average. The ranking pulls from long-run NOAA and NWS climate data, and the gap between these five locations and a normal snowy city like Syracuse is enormous. Syracuse, New York averages 126.3 inches a year. Cleveland, Ohio sees 68.5. Paradise sees more than five times Syracuse. Below is the full list, from fifth to first.
How We Ranked the Snowiest Places
This ranking uses average annual snowfall in inches, measured at permanent weather stations. We include towns and named peaks where an official station exists, and we call out the single-winter record alongside each average so you can see how wild an individual season can get.
One note on readers. We hear from Cleveland readers who see 68.5 inches a year and from Syracuse readers who see 126.3 and wonder if it could possibly get any heavier. It can. These five places would bury your year of snow in a single month.
The 5 Snowiest Places in the US
5. Mount Washington, New Hampshire
Mount Washington averages roughly 282 inches per season. That is less than some places in Alaska or the Western US, but it makes Mount Washington one of the snowiest spots in the Eastern United States. And the snow is not even what the mountain is best known for. Mount Washington is one of the windiest places in the world.
On April 12, 1934, the world’s fastest wind speed of 231 miles per hour was recorded at the Mount Washington Observatory. The record stood until instruments recorded 253 MPH winds on Barrow Island, Australia in 1996. Between the fierce winds and heavy snow, the ravines around Mount Washington can develop absolutely enormous snowdrifts, sometimes over 80 feet tall.
Be sure to read more on the Mount Washington Observatory.
4. Valdez, Alaska
Valdez collects 326.3 inches of snow a year, which makes it the snowiest named town in the country. The city is caught between two weather phenomena: cold air funneling in from Alaska’s snowfields and glaciers, and moist air pushing up from the Gulf of Alaska. Put those two together and you get the massive snowstorms Valdez routinely absorbs. In 1990, meteorologists recorded more than eight feet of snow on the ground not once but twice.
Even with those numbers, Valdez is not the snowiest spot in the US. Drive 30 minutes east to Thompson Pass and you land in one of the snowiest places on the planet. Thompson Pass averages 551.5 inches a year, and during the winter of 1952 to 1953, the region received 974 inches, which is just over 81 feet of snow.
3. Alta, Utah
Alta is a small village, fewer than 400 residents, but the records it holds are not small. At an altitude of 8,950 feet, Alta is both the snowiest town in the United States and one of the highest. The village and the nearby Alta Ski Area average 583 inches of snow per year. That snow sticks around, too. Over the winter, accumulation can reach nearly eight feet, and by May there is almost always at least five feet still on the ground. The last of Alta’s snow usually melts by the Fourth of July.
2. Mount Baker, Washington
The Cascades in Washington are notorious for seasonal snowfall, and Mount Baker is the extreme case. The mountain averages 641 inches of snow per year, one of the highest recorded averages anywhere in the world. Mount Baker also holds the US record for the most snowfall measured in a single winter. During the winter of 1998 to 1999, the mountain received 1,140 inches of snow, which is 95 feet.
1. Paradise Ranger Station, Mount Rainier, Washington
On seasonal average, Mount Rainier collects the most snowfall in the United States. The Paradise Ranger Station averages 671 inches of snow per year, which is nearly 56 feet. Mount Rainier is also part of the Washington Cascades and sits second only to Mount Baker for the all-time US record of highest annual snowfall. During the winter of 1971 to 1972, the Paradise Ranger Station recorded 1,122 inches of snow, which is 93.5 feet.
For most of us, a foot or two of snow is a memorable winter event, at least until it is time to shovel the driveway. For the places on this list, a foot or two of snow is the tip of the iceberg.
The Rankings at a Glance
| Rank | Place | State | Annual average | Single-winter record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paradise Ranger Station, Mount Rainier | WA | 671 in (~56 ft) | 1,122 in (93.5 ft) in 1971-72 |
| 2 | Mount Baker | WA | 641 in | 1,140 in (95 ft) in 1998-99 (US record) |
| 3 | Alta | UT | 583 in | – |
| 4 | Valdez (Thompson Pass nearby) | AK | 326.3 in (551.5 in at Thompson Pass) | 974 in (81 ft) at Thompson Pass in 1952-53 |
| 5 | Mount Washington | NH | 282 in | 80+ ft snowdrifts |
Why the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Own the Top of the List
Four of five entries sit in the Pacific Northwest or Alaska. Moist Pacific air collides with the Cascades and the Alaska Range, rises, cools, and drops its water as snow. When that pattern runs month after month through winter, you end up with annual totals the rest of the country cannot come close to. Mount Washington is the eastern outlier, and its numbers come from the same physics working on a smaller scale: moist North Atlantic air colliding with the Presidentials.
Reading this list next to our cloudiest states ranking or our 10 worst weather cities makes the geography snap into place. The same Pacific-Cascade pattern that makes Washington the cloudiest state in the lower 48 also makes it the snowiest.
What a Winter Actually Looks Like in These Places
In Alta, Utah, residents dig a snow tunnel from the front door to the driveway by Christmas and keep it open through April. In Valdez, ski-season locals joke that they measure their driveways in feet rather than inches. At Paradise, the ranger station staff use second-story entrances all winter because the first story is buried. This is not the snow of childhood snow days; it is snow as a year-round season.
If your region gets a real winter and you plan outdoor work around it, the Farmers’ Almanac long-range forecast maps the coming months so you can see where the storm track is likely to sit and which weeks to clear for shoveling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the snowiest place in the US?
The Paradise Ranger Station on Mount Rainier, Washington, with an average of 671 inches (nearly 56 feet) of snow per year. In the winter of 1971 to 1972 the station recorded 1,122 inches, which is 93.5 feet.
What city holds the US single-winter snow record?
Mount Baker, Washington, with 1,140 inches (95 feet) during the winter of 1998 to 1999. That is the most snowfall ever measured in a single winter at any US location.
What is the snowiest town in the US?
Alta, Utah at 583 inches of snow per year. Alta has a population of under 400 and sits at 8,950 feet elevation. By May there is almost always at least five feet of snow still on the ground, and the last snow typically melts by the Fourth of July.
How much snow does Syracuse get compared to these places?
Syracuse, New York averages 126.3 inches of snow per year, which makes it one of the snowiest cities in the contiguous 48 states. That is still less than a quarter of what Mount Rainier’s Paradise Ranger Station collects in a typical winter.
Why does the Pacific Northwest get so much snow?
Moist Pacific air runs into the Cascade Range, is forced upward, cools, and drops its moisture as snow. The pattern runs month after month through winter. The same mountains and ocean that make Washington and Oregon the cloudiest states in the lower 48 also make them the snowiest.
Is Mount Washington the snowiest place in the East?
Yes, by most measures. Mount Washington averages 282 inches per season, higher than any other reliably-reporting station in the Eastern US. The mountain is also one of the windiest places on Earth. On April 12, 1934, the Observatory recorded a 231 miles per hour wind, which held the world record until Barrow Island, Australia in 1996.
Amber Kanuckel
Amber Kanuckel is a freelance writer from rural Ohio who loves all things outdoors. She specializes in home, garden, environmental, and green living topics.
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- Amber Kanuckel
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Actually, google says we get 15 inches but I don’t think that’s right
In Arlington, VA, we get 3-5” on average
Hey Bobby P. I know exactly where your talking about. I was stationed at Fort Wainwright, and actually lived on Chena Pump Road. The first year that I was up there, it had snowed about 3.5 to 4′ already, then a severe winter storm hit us with another 2.5 to 3′. We were ordered by the Base Commander to shovel snow off of the roof of the Commissary because it was starting to cave in. The Commissary and PX are 2 stories tall, and we were jumping off into the snow banks and never touched the ground. By far the most snow I’ve ever seen in my life. We would find things that we lost when the snow finally melted in April during breakup, in the yard, cool if you like snow.
I moved to Fairbanks Alaska 5 yrs ago, I have measured atleast 100″ each yr and at wonters end in June we had 5 foot pack on the ground. 2020 we had 123″ on Chena ridge just west of the airport.
In Durham, NC we get 4 in per year on average. This seems like a lot more than what we actually get, and we’d be lucky to have enough snow to sled one time per year.
Here in Waco Texas we got 0.1 incredible inches of snow today. We averaged 0 inches a year. (February 6th)
Hi Everett. We hope you checked our forecast in the 2020 Almanac because we called it!
Jackson hole should be there to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be there to what? Did you mean, be there “too”? ?
Flagstaff, AZ averages 103 inches per year.
Dan C, the most snow ever in Keweenaw Peninsula is 390 inches. Also, Lake Superior never completely freezes over and only gets close about once every 20 years.
Correction. Michigans keeweenau peninsula averages 283 ” of snow annually not 600 to 700″ as dan c states