Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm. 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 heavy snow 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
- 76,201
- Deaths
- 291
- Injuries
- 1,362
- Damage
- $1.1 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.
- Heavy Snow in California, April 1 to 2, 1999Snow began late in the morning and continued till around midnight. The heaviest snow fell between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. At the 3700 foot elevation, nine inches of snow fell in a six hour period. At the 5650 foot elevation, eighteen inches of new snow fell in a twelve hour period.
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, April 10 to 11, 1997A late season moisture laden snow storm dumped 4 to 8 inches of accumulation across North Central and Northeast kansas generally north and west of Manhattan or along and north of a line from Abilene in Dickenson County to Baileyville in Nemaha County.
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Tennessee, January 14 to 16, 2024A major snowstorm powered by strong upper level dynamics and widespread preexisting low level cold produced heavy snowfall across East Tennessee.
- Heavy Snow in Louisiana, January 21, 2025A historically significant snowfall event impacted southeast Louisiana beginning in the early morning hours of January 21st.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Kansas, January 20 to 21, 2007On Saturday, January 20th, a powerful storm system ejected northeast from the southern rockies across the southern and central plains.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 18 to 20, 2011A strong upper level storm system moved across southern New Mexico, and initially brought heavy snow to western and central New Mexico. Then, a very strong cold front plowed across the northeast and east central plains bringing winds up to 60 mph and more heavy snow.
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, October 29, 2011An unprecedented winter storm for late October not only dropped heavy snow across most of Eastern Pennsylvania, but caused widespread power outages and road closures as many deciduous trees still had foliage.
- Blizzard and Coastal Flood in Massachusetts, February 8 to 10, 2013An historic winter storm deposited tremendous amounts of snow over all of southern New England, mainly from the mid-afternoon on Friday, February 8 and lasting into the daylight hours of Saturday, February 9.
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 6 to 7, 1996A winter storm formed over the Carolinas and tracked up the coast, bringing heavy snow to central New York. Snowfall accumulations ranged from 6 to 12 inches by the time the snow tapered off on the evening of the 7th.
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 30, 1997About a 70 mile wide band of heavy snow, southwest of a Galesburg to Springfield to Effingham line, occurred. Snow amounts ranged from 3 to 6 inches with the heaviest occurring in a line from Rushville to south of Springfield.
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998A freak winter storm dumped as much as 25 inches of snow on parts of Kentucky from the evening of February 3 to the morning of February 6.
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 2 to 3, 2014A winter storm dropped 5 to 9 inches of snow across Eastern Pennsylvania from the middle of afternoon of the 2nd into the morning of the 3rd. This caused hazardous traveling conditions for the evening commute on the 2nd and the morning commute on the 3rd.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 1 to 4, 2022A strong winter storm system deepened over the Rockies before tracking southward into New Mexico on February 1, 2022 and continuing into February 2nd. Accompanying this system was a backdoor cold front that brought in very cold arctic air into northern and central New Mexico.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 30 to 31, 2026A significant snowstorm struck portions of East Tennessee at the end of the month, thanks to strong lift from a deep upper trough diving from north to south. A couple of long term cooperative weather stations saw top 10 snowfalls during this storm.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in West Virginia, October 29 to 31, 2012A rare consolidation of a strong mid and upper level trough in the polar jet with a tropical hurricane named Sandy resulted in a historical snow storm for the month of October. Periods of rain fell for 2 days from the 27th into the 28th, as a cold front moved east.
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, January 27 to 28, 1998A surprise heavy wet snow fell over these mountainous counties. Since the environment was near the freezing mark, through a deep layer, a wide variation in snow depth was observed. The variation was based on elevation. Elevations above 2000 feet were impacted the most.
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998A major snowstorm affected eastern Kentucky from the evening of February 3 into the morning of February 6. Snowfall totals for the storm ranged from around 4 inches in valley locations near the Virginia border to as much as 2 feet in areas from Whitley City to Flemingsburg.
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, January 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Indiana, December 15 to 17, 2019A low pressure system brought two periods of heavy snow to central Indiana beginning Sunday afternoon and continuing through Monday night with a break during the day Monday.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Massachusetts, February 5, 2016Low pressure traveling along a cold front stalled south of southern New England brought heavy rain, which changed over to heavy snow as temperatures dropped. This snow was extraordinarily wet and heavy, bringing down trees and wires across portions of southern New England.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 6 to 8, 2009A potent storm system brought heavy snow and high winds across the state. Snowfall started on December 6th across the San Juan Mountains.
- Heavy Snow in Utah, January 15 to 18, 1998A moist west-northwest flow with embedded shortwaves was over the region during this time. Avalanches continued to occur in the Wasatch mountains. The highest snow totals were at Alta 30" and Trenton 7" (valleys). 2 snowmobilers were killed in separates slides.
- Heavy Snow in Utah, February 7 to 9, 1998Periods of heavy snow occurred in the state. Numerous traffic accidents resulted in injuries and 2 fatalities. Brighton and Solitude had 33" of snow and Enterprise had 14" for the highest storm totals.
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 17 to 18, 2000Snow was caused by a cold front aloft, moving across low level arctic air. This event was preceded by an upper elevation/Turnagain Arm wind advisory.This was the second significant snow of 2000 - 2001 winter season.
- Heavy Snow in Texas, December 25 to 27, 2000A strong storm system in the upper atmosphere moved from the four corners region into southwestern New Mexico and then moved slowly into west Texas producing heavy snowfall across all of the Texas panhandle.
The costliest
Damage from this kind of event within each episode, in the dollars of its year.
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 18 to 19, 2017
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 18 to 19, 2017
- Heavy Snow and Lightning Strike in Iowa, October 26, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Nebraska, October 25 to 26, 1997
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Texas, February 11 to 12, 2010
- Heavy Snow in New York, November 20 to 22, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, January 7 to 8, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Washington, December 28 to 30, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 2 to 3, 2012
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, November 9 to 15, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 17 to 18, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, February 21 to 23, 2023
- Heavy Snow in Mississippi, February 11 to 12, 2010
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, February 23 to 25, 2019
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in Massachusetts, December 7 to 8, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 24 to 26, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Washington, November 26 to 27, 2006
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, January 27 to 28, 1998
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New Jersey, January 22 to 23, 2005
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Connecticut, October 29 to 30, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, April 1, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 3 to 6, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, March 5 to 6, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 4 to 5, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Missouri, April 10 to 11, 1997
By state
| State or waters | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 3,772 | 21 | 69 | $7.4 million |
| Idaho | 3,527 | 12 | 24 | $115 million |
| New York | 3,420 | 10 | 16 | $130 million |
| Montana | 3,269 | 7 | 8 | $3.0 million |
| Colorado | 3,215 | 4 | 2 | $36,000 |
| Washington | 3,207 | 17 | 70 | $67 million |
| Maine | 2,954 | 0 | 0 | $7.5 million |
| Minnesota | 2,803 | 9 | 14 | $1.3 million |
| Michigan | 2,508 | 1 | 4 | $30 million |
| Pennsylvania | 2,452 | 15 | 113 | $32 million |
| Kentucky | 2,262 | 11 | 13 | $12 million |
| New Mexico | 2,245 | 29 | 101 | $2.8 million |
| Wisconsin | 2,143 | 5 | 24 | $585,000 |
| Oregon | 2,047 | 7 | 22 | $139 million |
| West Virginia | 2,010 | 6 | 3 | $31 million |
| Nevada | 1,785 | 0 | 7 | $1.3 million |
| Iowa | 1,737 | 3 | 3 | $112 million |
| North Carolina | 1,724 | 4 | 2 | $4.0 million |
| North Dakota | 1,677 | 0 | 3 | $9.5 million |
| Utah | 1,639 | 10 | 255 | $6.9 million |
| New Hampshire | 1,616 | 2 | 2 | $8.0 million |
| Tennessee | 1,588 | 14 | 21 | $5.9 million |
| Kansas | 1,584 | 17 | 75 | $13 million |
| Illinois | 1,512 | 16 | 31 | $460,000 |
| Wyoming | 1,498 | 5 | 7 | $28,000 |
| Massachusetts | 1,488 | 7 | 2 | $78 million |
| Texas | 1,465 | 7 | 35 | $58 million |
| South Dakota | 1,416 | 2 | 13 | $341,000 |
| Alaska | 1,360 | 5 | 16 | $1.5 million |
| Indiana | 1,269 | 7 | 71 | $5.9 million |
| Virginia | 1,232 | 4 | 1 | $8.9 million |
| Ohio | 1,131 | 0 | 17 | $60 million |
| Oklahoma | 1,064 | 3 | 3 | $7.0 million |
| Missouri | 930 | 0 | 10 | $13 million |
| Arizona | 920 | 7 | 128 | $655,000 |
| New Jersey | 920 | 3 | 21 | $19 million |
| Nebraska | 736 | 1 | 0 | $58 million |
| Georgia | 711 | 2 | 11 | $1.5 million |
| Connecticut | 599 | 1 | 1 | $25 million |
| Arkansas | 471 | 0 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| Mississippi | 441 | 2 | 2 | $32 million |
| South Carolina | 393 | 3 | 1 | $2.0 million |
| Rhode Island | 339 | 1 | 1 | $11 million |
| Maryland | 338 | 0 | 0 | $564,000 |
| Alabama | 299 | 3 | 2 | $300 |
| Vermont | 209 | 1 | 0 | $3.5 million |
| Louisiana | 151 | 7 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| Delaware | 88 | 0 | 138 | |
| Florida | 23 | 0 | 0 | $7.0 million |
| District of Columbia | 7 | 0 | 0 | $35,000 |
| Hawaii | 7 | 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.