Blizzard
Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer. Every one the National Weather Service has filed, by year and by state, with the deadliest and costliest.
The deadliest and costliest on the map
The deadliest and costliest blizzard episodes on record.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 17,342
- Deaths
- 255
- Injuries
- 653
- Damage
- $1.4 billion
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Every year
Deaths each year
The deadliest
Deaths from this kind of event within each episode.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in New York, December 23 to 27, 2022A historic lake effect blizzard occurred northeast of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario during the Christmas holiday weekend.
- Blizzard in Illinois, February 1 to 2, 2011A powerful and enormous winter storm moved across northern Illinois with blizzard conditions across much of the area which paralayzed the region.
- Blizzard in Pennsylvania, January 22 to 24, 2016An impulse from the west coast traversed the midsection of the country, then developed into a low pressure system as it tracked across the Gulf states before intensifying along the Carolina coast into a major nor'easter, producing record snowfall in eastern Pennsylvania from…
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in New York, February 8 to 9, 2013Low pressure that formed along the northern Gulf coast by the morning of Thursday, February 7, 2013 moved northeast to near Cape Hatteras by the morning of Friday, February 8, 2013 .
- Blizzard in Pennsylvania, January 7 to 8, 1996The Blizzard of '96, the second coined "STORM OF THE CENTURY" of this decade brought record breaking snow to most of Southeast Pennsylvania and paralyzed the region for several days, caused most municipalities to exceed their annual snow budgets during this one storm, caused…
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 9 to 11, 2013A powerful winter storm moved into the central Plains during the weekend of March 9-10th. The system initially brought warm weather and scattered showers and thunderstorms on the evening of the 8th into the morning of the 9th.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in South Dakota, December 12 to 16, 2022A powerful winter storm moved slowly across the central and northern Plains to the upper Midwest; bringing heavy snow, some mixed precipitation, strong winds, and periods of blizzard or near blizzard conditions across the plains for a multi-day period.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in New York, February 22 to 23, 2026Low pressure in the gulf states moved northeast and intensified along and off the Mid Atlantic coast with the consolidated of mid level energy resulting in a major Nor'easter which brought blizzard and near blizzard conditions to Southeastern New York.
- Blizzard in Colorado, October 24 to 25, 1997
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Missouri, February 1, 2011A major winter storm brought heavy wintry precipitation to the Missouri Ozarks and southeast Kansas on February 1, 2011.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Ohio, December 23 to 24, 2022A long-duration, multi-faceted winter storm hit northern Ohio just before Christmas 2022 with extreme cold, strong winds, accumulating snow and extensive blowing and drifting of the snow that fell.
- Blizzard in Utah, January 11 to 14, 1997A historic winter storm brought death and destruction to Utah during this 3 day period in January. Initially a moist westerly flow was in place over the state. Then a strong arctic front blew through on the 12th creating blizzard conditions.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Oklahoma, February 1, 2011A very strong storm system moved across the Southern Rockies into the Southern Plains on the 31st of January and 1st of February. Cold air had surged into the region ahead of this system on the 30th and 31st.
- Blizzard in New Jersey, January 7 to 8, 1996
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Kansas, March 27 to 28, 2009A late season winter storm of record breaking proportions struck central, south-central and southeast Kansas March 27-28, 2009. Heavy snow with blizzard conditions affected much of central and south-central Kansas, with accumulations exceeding 18 inches for some locations.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Oklahoma, December 24, 2009A powerful winter storm developed over parts of the Southern Plains, resulting in one of the most widespread and damaging blizzards to affect Oklahoma in decades.
- Blizzard in Indiana, February 1 to 2, 2011A powerful and enormous winter storm moved across northwest Indiana with blizzard conditions across much of the area which paralayzed the region. Heavy snow began falling during the early afternoon.
- Blizzard in Colorado, March 13 to 14, 2019An intense low pressure system developed over southern Colorado on March 13th, producing blizzard conditions at times over El Paso county(focused from later in the morning on March 13th into the afternoon of March 13th).
- Blizzard in Wisconsin, February 1 to 2, 2011A powerful low pressure center, passing south of Wisconsin, produced blizzard conditions across much of southern Wisconsin from the evening hours of Tuesday, February 1st into the early morning of Wednesday, February 2nd.
- Blizzard in Washington, May 29, 20023 climbers lost their lives near the top of Mt Rainier when high winds destroyed their tents and collapsed their snow caves.
- Blizzard in South Dakota, October 3 to 5, 2013A historic blizzard pounded western South Dakota with record-setting snowfall and strong winds for almost 48 hours from the evening of October 3 through the afternoon of October 5.
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 9 to 11, 1997The second blizzard in less than 1 week brought North Dakota to a virtual standstill. This blizzard didn't bring as much snow as the first storm, but the winds gusted from the northwest as high at 40 mph and they lasted for 3 days.
- Blizzard in North Dakota, April 4 to 7, 1997Warm weather the first three days of April lead much of North Dakota to believe that spring had arrived with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Mother Nature had other plans. A very strong area of low pressure moved out of the Colorado area into the northern plains.
- Blizzard and Ice Storm in Texas, December 26 to 28, 2015Following a mild Christmas, a strong cold front arrived early on the morning of the 26th ahead of temperatures falling to freezing territory throughout the course of the afternoon all in advance of a slow-moving upper low in the Desert Southwest and far north-central Mexico.
- Blizzard and Ice Storm in Illinois, February 1 to 2, 2011A powerful storm system tracking from the southern Plains into the Great Lakes brought a wide variety of wintry precipitation to central and southeast Illinois on Februray 1st into the 2nd.
The costliest
Damage from this kind of event within each episode, in the dollars of its year.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 26 to 27, 2015
- Blizzard in North Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in New Jersey, February 5 to 6, 2010
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Colorado, March 17 to 19, 2003
- Blizzard in North Dakota, April 23 to 24, 2022
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 9 to 11, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard in North Dakota, April 4 to 7, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, March 23 to 24, 2009
- Blizzard in Utah, January 11 to 14, 1997
- Blizzard and Ice Storm in Texas, December 26 to 28, 2015
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in New York, February 8 to 9, 2013
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Oklahoma, February 1, 2011
- Blizzard in Minnesota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in West Virginia, October 29 to 31, 2012
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 24 to 25, 2010
- Blizzard in Pennsylvania, January 7 to 8, 1996
- Blizzard in New Jersey, January 7 to 8, 1996
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in New York, December 23 to 27, 2022
- Blizzard in Texas, February 24 to 25, 2013
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Oklahoma, October 25, 1997
- Blizzard in Nebraska, November 27 to 29, 2005
- Blizzard in Nebraska, April 6 to 7, 2024
- Blizzard in Iowa, December 20, 2012
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
By state
| State or waters | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2,735 | 14 | 103 | $308 million |
| South Dakota | 2,499 | 24 | 52 | $113 million |
| Minnesota | 2,191 | 10 | 33 | $29 million |
| Alaska | 1,981 | 7 | 5 | $436,000 |
| Iowa | 1,703 | 9 | 29 | $25 million |
| Nebraska | 1,179 | 12 | 23 | $27 million |
| Kansas | 688 | 9 | 19 | $8.6 million |
| Montana | 642 | 3 | 15 | $3.4 million |
| Wyoming | 451 | 3 | 9 | $9.0 million |
| Michigan | 438 | 1 | 20 | $1.4 million |
| Colorado | 426 | 16 | 7 | $72 million |
| Wisconsin | 302 | 7 | 17 | $594,000 |
| Illinois | 240 | 21 | 5 | $4.4 million |
| Maine | 218 | 1 | 1 | |
| New York | 189 | 59 | 10 | $51 million |
| Missouri | 171 | 4 | 4 | $140,000 |
| Texas | 165 | 2 | 7 | $47 million |
| Oklahoma | 105 | 8 | 9 | $49 million |
| Indiana | 105 | 3 | 0 | $100,000 |
| New Jersey | 96 | 3 | 1 | $119 million |
| Idaho | 86 | 3 | 1 | $500,000 |
| New Mexico | 77 | 3 | 8 | $406 million |
| Massachusetts | 70 | 1 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| Virginia | 64 | 1 | 1 | $350,000 |
| Maryland | 61 | 2 | 150 | $160,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 59 | 15 | 0 | $20 million |
| West Virginia | 58 | 1 | 0 | $22 million |
| Connecticut | 54 | 1 | 0 | |
| California | 44 | 1 | 0 | $150,000 |
| Oregon | 36 | 0 | 0 | $220,000 |
| Ohio | 35 | 4 | 73 | |
| Utah | 34 | 3 | 50 | $40 million |
| Washington | 32 | 3 | 1 | $2.2 million |
| Rhode Island | 24 | 1 | 0 | $62,000 |
| North Carolina | 19 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Hampshire | 17 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delaware | 10 | 0 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| Arizona | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nevada | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hawaii | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vermont | 5 | 0 | 0 | $75,000 |
| Louisiana | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| District of Columbia | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Arkansas | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tennessee | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Every kind of event
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Hail
- Flash Flood
- High Wind
- Winter Storm
- Drought
- Winter Weather
- Tornado
- Heavy Snow
- Flood
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind
- Heat
- Heavy Rain
- Strong Wind
- Excessive Heat
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Lightning
- Dense Fog
- Blizzard
- Frost/Freeze
- Ice Storm
- High Surf
- Funnel Cloud
- Wildfire
- Tropical Storm
- Waterspout
- Coastal Flood
- Lake-Effect Snow
- Debris Flow
- Hurricane (Typhoon)
- Dust Storm
- Rip Current
- Storm Surge/Tide
- Marine High Wind
- Sleet
- Avalanche
- Marine Hail
- Astronomical Low Tide
- Marine Tropical Storm
- Tropical Depression
- Freezing Fog
- Lakeshore Flood
- Dust Devil
- Marine Strong Wind
- Dense Smoke
- Marine Hurricane/Typhoon
- Volcanic Ashfall
- Seiche
- Sneakerwave
- Volcanic Ash
- Tsunami
- Marine Tropical Depression
- Marine Dense Fog
- Northern Lights
- Marine Lightning
- Hurricane
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.