Outdoors with Don Q: Record snow depths, state by state

With our seemingly, never-ending drought going on and on and on, and now that we are in the middle of yet another winter with a lack of snow and no snowfall in the extended forecast, you might be interested in knowing about the all-time record snow depths, state by state, from the shallowest to the deepest, according to internet website www.weather.com.
Here they are from No. 50 (the shallowest) to No. 01 (the deepest):

50. Florida: 4 inches:
Milton, Fla., just northeast of Pensacola, had 4 inches of snow on the ground on March 6, 1954. It all fell in one day, making it the state's heaviest one-day snowfall as well.

49. Hawaii: 5 inches:
Despite its tropical location, Hawaii's high volcanic peaks can receive snow. Haleakala, on Maui, recorded 5 inches of snow cover on April 6, 1938.

47. Tie: Mississippi: 18 inches:
Not surprisingly, Mississippi's deepest snow occurred within a few miles of its northern border, near Mount
Pleasant on Dec. 23, 1963.

47. Tie: Georgia: 18 inches:
The Superstorm of 1993 brought Georgia's deepest snow cover. Chatsworth, in northwest Georgia, had a foot and a half on the ground March 13, 1993.

46: Alabama: 22 inches:
In west-central Alabama, the town of Reform had 22 inches of snow on the ground on Jan. 24, 1940.

45. Louisiana: 24 inches:
Surprisingly, Louisiana's deepest snow wasn't far from the Gulf Coast. Just west of Lafayette, 24 inches blanketed the ground near Rayne, La., way back on Feb. 15, 1895.

44. Delaware: 25 inches:
Ten years ago, the New Castle County Airport in Wilmington observed 25 inches of snow on the ground on Feb. 18, 2003, tying the state record set near Bridgeville on Feb. 19, 1979.

43. Arkansas: 26 inches:
The northeast Arkansas town of Calico Rock had a 26-inch snow depth on Jan. 22, 1918.

42. South Carolina: 29 inches:
In the mountains of Upstate South Carolina, 29 inches of snow capped Caesars Head on Feb. 18, 1969

41. Kentucky: 31 inches:
Just outside Louisville, the city of La Grange had 31 inches of snow on the ground on Jan. 20, 1978.

40. Texas: 33 inches:
33 inches of snow were measured near Vega, west of Amarillo, on Feb. 7, 1956.

38. Tie: Missouri: 36 inches:
Union, Mo., had three feet of snow on the ground on March 19-20, 1960.

38. Tie: Oklahoma: 36 inches:
Buffalo, Okla., felt more like Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 22, 1971. The town 150 miles northwest of Oklahoma City had three feet of snow on the ground.

37. Kansas: 40 inches:
Like Oklahoma, the Kansas snow-depth crown goes to a town with an upstate New York namesake. Syracuse, Kan., near the Colorado border, had 40 inches of snow cover on Dec. 31, 1918.

36. Illinois: 41 inches:
Gebhard Woods State Park, on the Illinois River near Morris, had 41 inches of snow cover on Jan. 31, 1979. Astoria, in western Illinois, also had 41 inches on Feb. 28, 1900.

35. Rhode Island: 42 inches:
After the Blizzard of '78, a record 42 inches of snow were on the ground on Feb. 7, 1978 near North Foster in western Providence County.

34. Nebraska: 44 inches:
Ironically, Nebraska's snow depth record dates to the Dust Bowl, when Fremont had 44 inches of snow cover on Feb. 16, 1936.

31. Tie: Indiana: 47 inches:
On the southern end of Lake Michigan, Hammond had 47 inches of snow cover on Jan. 28, 1918.

31. Tie: Ohio: 47 inches:
Northeast Ohio is infamous for lake-effect snow from Lake Erie. The state record snow depth of 47 inches occurred in Chardon on Nov. 14, 1996.

31. Tie: Virginia: 47 inches:
Virginia's deepest snow occurred when the Blizzard of '96 left a 47-inch snowpack at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park on Jan. 7, 1996.

30. North Carolina: 50 inches:
The highest peak in the eastern U.S., Mount Mitchell, had 50 inches on March 14, 1993, after the '93 Superstorm struck. It also had a 50-inch depth in March 1942.

28. Tie: New Jersey: 52 inches:
On Feb. 5, 1961, 52 inches of snow sat on the ground around Canistear Reservoir in Vernon Twp., Sussex County.

28. Tie: Iowa: 52 inches:
Lake Park, in northwest Iowa, holds the state record with 52 inches on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1, 1969, but the state climatologist is investigating 'issues' with this record.

27. Maryland: 54 inches:
Maryland is another state whose snow-cover record dates to the '93 Superstorm. Frostburg, in western Maryland, had 54 inches on the ground Mar. 15, 1993.

26. Connecticut: 55 inches:
The same storm that gave New Jersey its record did the same for Connecticut, with 55 inches on the ground near Norfolk on Feb. 5, 1961.

25. Pennsylvania: 60 inches:
Five feet of snow covered the ground in the small Poconos village of Gouldsboro on Mar. 22-23, 1958.

23. Tie: West Virginia: 62 inches:
Snowshoe, one of West Virginia's best-known ski resorts, had 62 inches of snow on the ground March 8, 1978 - undoubtedly this official record excludes man-made snow.

23. Tie: Massachusetts: 62 inches:
Appropriately, the 'greatest' snow depth in Massachusetts was in Great Barrington on Jan. 13, 1996, with 62 inches.

22. Tennessee: 63 inches:
Mount Le Conte, in Smoky Mountain National Park, recorded 63 inches of snow depth on March 14-15, 1993, thanks to the '93 Superstorm.

21. North Dakota: 65 inches:
On the wide open plains of southeast North Dakota, Berlin logged 65 inches of snow cover on March 12, 1897.

20. South Dakota: 73 inches:
An epic 5-day blizzard in 1998 dumped 103 inches of snow in the Black Hills city of Lead. Compression and settling meant the official snow depth maxed out at 73 inches on March 1, setting a state record.

19. Wisconsin: 83 inches:
Spring did not come early for northern Wisconsin in 1933. A record 83 inches of snow was on the ground at the Flambeau Reservoir on April 6.

18. Maine: 84 inches:
The west-central Maine town of Farmington was buried under seven feet of snow by Feb. 28, 1969.

17. Minnesota: 88 inches:
The small farming town of Meadowlands, northwest of Duluth, had 88 inches of snow cover for the entire week of Feb. 15-21, 1969.

16. Arizona: 91 inches:
Hawley Lake sits on the Mogollon Rim, 8,200 feet above sea level. That's how this spot halfway between Phoenix and Albuquerque piled up 91 inches of snow by Dec. 21, 1967.

15. New Mexico: 96 inches:
The now-defunct Lee Ranch had 96 inches of snow cover on Mar. 15, 1941. The site is better known now as Valle Grande, within the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos.

14. Michigan: 117 inches:
Lake-effect snow routinely buries northern Michigan. On the Keweenaw Peninsula, Eagle Harbor sat under 117 inches of snow Jan. 27-31, 1948.

13. New York: 119 inches:
Whiteface Mountain, in the Adirondacks, piled up 119 inches of snow by April 20, 1943.

12. Wyoming: 128 inches:
Over 10 feet of snow sat on the ground at Grassy Lake Dam in northwest Wyoming on Feb. 4, 1943.

11. Montana: 147 inches:
NCDC credits 'Summit', an observation site near Marias Pass on U.S. Highway 2 in Glacier National Park, as the Montana record holder with 147 inches of snow cover on Feb. 18, 1975.

10. Vermont: 149 inches:
Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield, also had the state's deepest snowpack ever recorded, 149 inches on April 2, 1969.

09. New Hampshire: 164 inches:
Pinkham Notch, near Mount Washington, recorded 13 feet, 8 inches of snow cover on Feb. 27, 1969.

08. Utah: 179 inches:
The official Utah record is 179 inches at Alta, in the Wasatch Range near Salt Lake City, on April 5 and 7, 1958. However, an unofficial 236-inch depth was measured at the same site May 19, 1983.

07. Idaho: 182 inches:
Mullan Pass, also known as Lookout Pass, on the Idaho-Montana border along present-day Interstate 90, was buried under 182 inches of snow on Feb. 20 and 22, 1954.

06. Alaska: 192 inches:
Valdez averages 326 inches of snowfall annually per year, more than any other U.S. city. Due to compacting, the state snow depth record set there is 'only' 192 inches, or 16 feet, on March 7 and April 11, 2008.

05. Colorado: 251 inches:
A whopping 251 inches of snow were measured just east of Wolf Creek Pass on U.S. Highway 160 on March 31, 1979.

04. Oregon: 252 inches:
Exactly 21 feet of snow smothered the headquarters at Crater Lake National Park on April 3, 1983.


03. Nevada: 271 inches:
Near what is now the junction of U.S. 50 and Nevada S.R. 28 west of Carson City, Spooner Station measured 271 inches of snow on Mar. 12-13, 1911. (Wow! That is more than 22 feet of snow!)

02. Washington: 367 inches:
For snow-lovers, Paradise Ranger Station in Mount Rainier National Park is aptly named. It had 367 inches of snow on the ground March 9-10, 1956.

01. California: 451 inches:
A tall mountain range downwind of a huge ocean makes a snow magnet. Tamarack, on the west slopes of the Sierra Nevada, holds the U.S. snow depth record of 451 inches set March 11, 1911.

Finally:
Let's hope and pray for another snowfall like Nevada experienced way back in the year 1911. We need that snow. We need it desperately!

Bet Your favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you the North America record for the most snowfall in 24 hours at one location.
If he grins and says, "It is 76 inches (6.3 feet) that fell on Silver Lake, Colorado in 24 hours on April 14-15, 1921," he has been looking at the same internet records as I did.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. Don's wife, Elaine, is the Outdoor editor. They live in Carson City and can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.