There seems to be much debate about what the snowiest city in the U.S. and world is. Everyone who lives in a cold, dreary city claims that their city is the snowiest (possibly because that’s the only claim to fame such bleak places can have). After much research, the general consensus for the snowiest U.S. city is Blue Canyon, CA. The snowiest ‘known’ U.S. city appears to be Juneau, while the snowiest ‘major’ city (pop. of 200,000 or more) seems to be Rochester, NY. But I have found no near-definitive statistics as to what the snowiest city in the world is. I see Montreal being used here and there, but I seriously doubt it is true. I have also see some indications that the island of Hokkaido in Japan is the snowiest region(I do not know of any particular cities there). If any of you have any statistical information on the snowiest cities in the world, I’d be much obliged if you’d post it! (disgrunted postal employees in Syracuse or Caribou need not apply) Thanks in advance!
Define “snowiest.”
Most snowfall per year?
Or most days below freezing?
Two very different concepts there. A city that gets lake effect snow will have a lot of snowfall, but also a lot of thaws.
FWIW, Google shows Montreal and Moscow seem to be tied for coldest city over a million, with average winter temperatures of -10 C and -9 C respectively. (Edmonton easily beats them both with an average winter temperature of -14, but its metro area is only 900,000.)
Oh, and you can add Ottawa to that coldest-city list as well, with a metro population of just over a million and an average winter temperature of -10 C.
When I ask snowiest, I mean, well - snowiest. A city’s mean temperature has absolutely nothing to do with the amount of snowfall it receives. Barrow, Alaska receives a fraction of the snow that Buffalo receives, yet is much colder. Thus, Buffalo is a snowier city, since they receive more snowfall. I pose the request for info again: if any of y’all out there can provide some statistics, or any info, regarding the world’s snowiest city, please do! Thanks.
The snowiest city over 100,000 in the US (possibly North America, but they only have 1 Canadian, and NO Mexican cities on the list) according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo is Syracuse, NY, with 108 inches annually.
The definition of “snowiest” isn’t as clear as you make it seem. You could theoretically have a location which recieves tons of snowfall, but where the snow melts as soon as it falls. Hence you could conceivably have a “snowy” city where snow is seldom seen on the ground. (Again, this is more likely to happen near large bodies of water.)
In any case, the question you seem to be asking is, “Which city receives the most snowfall?” and not “Which city sees the greatest average accumulation during the winter?”
(I concur that Syracuse would take the US crown in both categories.)
This is almost becoming laughable, at least in terms of the definition of ‘snowiest’ - to which there is only one. Perhaps Wumpus should start a new thread regarding the definition of meterological terms.
I did not care which city has more White Christmases, or which city has the deepest snow pack on March 16, or which city has the largest snow flakes. Nor do I care which city’s snow melts the fastest. For the remaining responses, if any, to this thread - please limit to discussion of annual snowfall amounts of worldwide cities.
Regarding snowiest major city in U.S., I guess that’s still up in the air too. Any evidence, such as that from Mike. V would be appreciated (although the site he refers us to leaves off obvious contenders, so perhaps it is not complete). But I believe Syracuse falls short of a ‘major city’ classification (over 200,000); otherwise towns such as Juneau, Caribou, Watertown, and others would probably be ranked higher.
Please send stats! Thanks in advance!
Buffalo, #3, averages 93 inches a year, while Denver has the #5 spot at 68 inches. However, Denver tends to have much milder winter weather than Buffalo. Denver is sunnier and warmer, and the dry, fluffy snow there tends to melt away after a day or two. Buffalo has snow on the ground almost continuously from late November through March – when the lake effect drops, it stays on the ground for the most part. Also, Buffalo’s southern suburbs tend to get about twoce the amount of snow that falls on the city – when Amherst and Tonawanda get 10 cm, Orchard Park and East Aurora will get 20 to 30. Very few people have snowblowers in Denver; in Buffalo they’re as common as lawnmowers.
If we’re looking at cities of more than 100,000, I wonder where Colorado Springs and Fort Collins are? Throw Denver’s nmegaburbs on the list – Aurora, Centennial, Lakewood and Westminster – and the list would be dominated by Colorado cities, although not in the top spots.
I don’t know where you are getting your information, but Juneau, Alaska isn’t even in the running, with only 98.5 inches average snowfall over the last 59 years. Now, if you go to Valdez, Alaska, it’s a whole 'nother story: 324 inches average annual snowfall over the past 29 years. Nearby Thompson Pass got 974.5 inches over the winter of '52-'53. Makes Syracuse look like Palm Springs.
Sources:
National Climatic Data Center (NOAA)
FAQALASKA - Frequently Asked Questions About Alaska
I’m doubting Thomson Pass is an incorporated city…if we want to throw snowfall statistics, then Paradise (Mt. Ranier Ranger Station) takes the cake (at over 1,200 inches a year). Thanks for the previous post, but there is NO city in Colorado that is even close to the snowiest in the country. I’ve read Juneau stats at over 110" a year, so obviously the U.S. stats are a simple matter of source (and not fact yet). SO, let’s all agree to disagree, and say that the snowiest U.S. cities are a moot point and assume the world’s snowiest city is outside the U.S. (NOT counting Blue Canyon, CA).
Going back to the original question in the thread, what is the snowiest city in the world? I’ll even be please (sorta) with the snowiest region in world. Perhaps winward side of the French Alps? Or somewhere in Japan?
But to the Colorado fan, you’re not even close…I lived less than an hour for Fort Collins, and they are in semi-arid desert. Probably less than 50" a year. Heck, small town Marquette, Michigan averages TWICE that amount.
Er, “snowiest” simply isn’t a meterological term, which was rather the point of my posts. Ask a vague question, and you can be assured of a vague answer. 
We can rule out Canada. The greatest average annual snowfall record there is only 170 inches (414 cm) in Corner Brook.
Source: Facts about Canada
This page awards the crown to Sapporo, Japan, with 5 meters of snow a year:
Not even close, Wumpus; 5 meters is equivalent to only 197 inches. I am going to stand by Valdez, Alaska at 324 inches, until somebody can show evidence of greater average annual snowfall somewhere else.
Wumpus where are you getting your info? I’m kind of surprised about Moscow being more tropical than Edmonton, and the -14 C for Edmonton seems harsh. TIA
The only problem I have with that list (even if it is a government site) is that Denver is listed as #5 while Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Ft. Collins are all over 100,000 ( Ft. Collins may not be but the Pueblo area is and in C Springs, we have about 400,000 in the city with a total of 500,000 in the county) and not even listed on that page.
Colorado Springs typically gets more snowfall (at least in my experience of living in C Springs for 27 of my 33 years and 2 1/2 in the Denver Metro area) So, I would imagine that C Springs would have blown Denver out of the snow shoot on this one list.
If anything, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver would be within inches of each other, Pueblo being last among the Colorado cities, Grand Junction doesn’t get much snow so even though it has the metropolitan designation, I doubt it would get more than 16 inches in a typical year (see why I want to move back?)
Also, where are they getting the statistics? Snowfall is generally greater the closer to the mountains we are. We have this thing (that Northern New Mexicans and Wyoming peoples are very aware of) called Up Slope. Typically a low front that is located in a certain part along the front range of the rockies will push moisture up against the mountains and we will get snow storms but the mountains wont see a drop because of the Continental Divide. The plains area will see considerably less but lots of wind. Also, they moved the National Weather Service from Stapleton Airport to DIA, Stapleton is closer to Denver than DIA.
Communities, like C Springs (being Colorado Springs proper) are closer to the mountains than say Denver proper. Same with Ft. Collins which does recieve a good amount in an average year.
Now, on to the OP. Cities, I guess you could define them in any way, shape or form but apparently a city to one is not a city to another. So for the sake of argument, why not set the ground rules that would best answer your curiousity? As for snow, do you mean snow that falls on a city in a given year or snow that stays on the ground in a given year?
We have some places in Colorado where the ski area base (just the base) is 175" (Wolf Creek is my reference point) in a good year so are the stats you are seeking for an average or are you asking for overall the most snow fallen on a specific city at any point in meterological recorded time.
Hey gotta get down to the nitty gritty, make sure that everyone knows what you are asking. 
( oh and I don’t see Cheyenne, Wyoming in there, they get a lot of snow, despite the fact they are “on the plains” but I think they get a lot more snow than 17" and I think have a higher population than 100,000.)
< techchick just ate her words… >
http://www.nws.mbay.net/normsnow.html
It’s kind of a pain to read through (even at higher resolutions) but I guess Denver does get more snowfall. But it still is more than Chicago is listed on that 100,000 or more list.
Valdez, Alaska sounds like a contender for world’s snowiest CITY (although certainly not a major city, or even a city by Juneau’s standards). However, if there is a regular annual population there (with government officials), I’d say that qualifies as a city. And wumpus, give it up friend. Snowiest means one thing, no matter how many times you kick the dead horse.
Valdez even beats the snow town in California, although at under 400" annually, I’m willing to bet there is a ‘city’ somewhere else other than this continent that receives more. Perhaps northermost extremes of Norway (or Finland), which are face the ocean (and too far from the moderate effects of the Gulf Stream)? However, my vote goes thus far to Fear Itelf’s answer of Valdez.
Re Colorado locales, ANY city on the leeward side of the Rockies just don’t get much snow. They are ALL under 70" annually (Denver, C Springs, Pueblo, etc).
Fear, the question is about the city with the most snowfall. Valdez has a population of 4,700–it isn’t a city, it’s a small town. So it’s not eligible, as zapp already explained. (zapp won’t even consider Syracuse a city.) Sapporo, on the other hand, has a population of 1.7 million.
K364, I got the information on Moscow, Montreal and Edmonton by typing the city name and “average winter temperature” into Google. Here’s the city of Edmonton itself backing up my claim. (Actually, they say it’s even colder: -15!)
techchick, Colorado Springs only gets 42 inches of snow per year, also according to the city itself. That’s about the same as Chicago, but nowhere near Montreal, let alone Syracuse and Sapporo.
http://www.introcoloradosprings.com/here/abo.html
Now part of my brain that could have been devoted to solving world hunger or writing the great American novel is crammed full of snowfall statistics. The sacrifices we make for knowledge…
Valdez is a city incorporated in 1901. If you want to add qualifications to the OP based on population, fine; but don’t make arbitrary pronouncements about what is or is not a city. I’m sticking with Valdez.