Best and worst "snow cities"?

[bmd69]

41 inches in buffalo. Used my Deere once.

[Pincho-toot]

Third winter living in Minnesota. Never seen chains on a car. Ever in my life.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

DC, although it snows every year there.

It always blows my mind, cities that get at least a few snow falls each winter month, yet still freak out as if it was the Gulf Coast. Like, we get it, you're not Buffalo, but you're not Houston either. How many winters 'til y'all learn how to manage?

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by danielj72

Anything above and along 41 degrees of latitude....about the latitude of Chicago or Cleveland is a good market for where the real hard core weather misery begins. Above that line are places that spend half or even more than half the year in cold weather. If you live somewhere that it can snow in May then you are too far north......yes there are places where snow falls in May.

Just because snow can and has fallen in May (and generally only the very early part of May) does not mean it's a routine thing. I've seen snow falling in May twice in Minneapolis. Once in 2017 and again in 2019. Both times it was a short lived flurry that was a transition from cold rain. Neither times did it cover the ground let alone accumulate an inch or more. Snow in May is an oddity, and usually the rest of May is gonna be in the 60s and 70s. I will say, since moving here, the first snow has always come in October, but never lasted on the ground more than a few hours. The first real snow has always been in November so far since I moved here, and the last real snow in April.


Snow outside the winter months can happen down south, as well. Parts of Texas got over a foot of snow last October. We had a dusting at most.

[Katarina Witt]

Colorado snow tire/chain laws:
https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/tractionlaw

[Jay_F]

I have lived just south of Erie, PA and know well what a brutal winter looks like... LOTS of wet heavy snow, very cold temps (-26 actual back in 2014), and the worst to me is the seemingly never ending days of gray dreary skies for many months. Gray as in a uniform, featureless gray pall from horizon to horizon... Think a uniform, medium gray blanket over the entirety of the sky from 'sunup' until dark. God, even a mottled sky would be nice, or partly cloudy, heaven. I know some places are listed as worse by some other metrics; just the same Erie is no picnic from Nov-Apr if you like abundant sunshine and low humidity.

When I lived in UT it was so much better... Down light powdered snow that was actually hard to shovel, and MUCH, much more sunlight that felt invigorating. You could be outside with a light jacket even with very cold temps, and feel amazing in the bright sunshine under azure blue skies with dry air... Completely different winter experience, in two places with abundant snow.

[bellafinzi]

Snowiest Metropolitan Areas and Micropolitan Areas in the United States of America ranked by average annual snowfall.

1) Houghton Michigan 202 inches of snow a year

2) Truckee California 168 inches of snow a year

3) Breckenridge Colorado 157 inches of snow a year

4) Marquette Michigan 157

5) Jackson Wyoming 132

6) Steamboat Springs Colorado 127

7) Gardnerville Nevada 121

8) Jamestown New York 120

9) Traverse City Michigan 114

10) Watertown New York 110

11) Berlin New Hampshire 108

12) Utica New York 106

13) Erie Pennsylvania 104

14) Syracuse New York 104

15) Glenwood Springs Colorado 102

16) Sault St Marie Michigan 101

17) Barre Vermont 99

18) Olean New York 95

19) Boulder Colorado 92

20) Bozeman Montana 91

21) Rochester New York 90

22) Duluth Minnesota 90

23) Malone New York 90

24) Flagstaff Arizona 90

25) Buffalo New York 87

26) Juneau Alaska 87

27) Burlington Vermont 87

28) Binghamton New York 86

29) Cortland New York 86

30) Ludington Michigan 84

31) Oneonta New York 83

32) Ogdensburg New York 83

33) Rexburg Idaho 82

34) Gloversville New York 81

35) Cadillac Michigan 80

36) Batavia New York 80

37) Heber Utah 80

38) Rutland Vermont 80

39) Ashtabula Ohio 79

40) Muskegon Michigan 79

41) Bangor Maine 78

42) Edwards Colorado 78

43) Holland Michigan 77

44) Grand Rapids Michigan 77

45) Spearfish South Dakota 77

46) Alpena Michigan 76

47) Auburn New York 76

48) Amsterdam New York 74

49) Kalispell Montana 74

50) Lewiston Maine 74

51) Plattsburg New York 73

52) Denver Colorado 73

53) Laramie Wyoming 73

54) Augusta Maine 72

55) Worcester Massachusetts 72

56) Glens Falls New York 71

57) Cedar City Utah 71

58) Casper Wyoming 71

59) Ithaca New York 69

60) Bradford Pennsylvania 68

61) Lebanon New Hampshire 68

62) Fort Collins Colorado 67

63) Concord New Hampshire 66

64) Laconia New Hampshire 66

65) Durango Colorado 66

66) Colorado Springs Colorado 64

67) Manchester New Hampshire 64

68) Portland Maine 64

69) Sandpoint Idaho 63

70) Keene New Hampshire 62

71) Sheridan Wyoming 62

72) Big Rapids Michigan 61

73) Iron Mountain Michigan 61

74) Fairbanks Alaska 59

75) Great Falls Montana 60

76) Hailey Idaho 59

77) Craig Colorado 59

78) Logan Utah 58

79) Cleveland Ohio 58

80) Cheyenne Wyoming 58

81) Albany New York 57

82) Wausau Wisconsin 54

83) Missoula Montana 53

84) Salt Lake City Utah 52

[Thealpinist]

Originally Posted by Pincho-toot

Third winter living in Minnesota. Never seen chains on a car. Ever in my life.

You don’t need chains in Minnesota. Chains are mostly for mountain states and places with significant hills. Carrying chains in certain parts of mountain states is required by law.

[Citykid3785]

I can speak for the Twin Cities.

It's more about winter and cold than it is snow. It's almost too cold and dry to get the 2 foot storms you might see more common in Buffalo NY.

That said, winter is celebrated to the extent that it can be. Much of the metro is designed with this in mind, be it the skyway system, the Mall of America, or US Bank Stadium. That said, winter can be long and trying. They have such a wonderful park system though, and most parks have both a summer and winter element to them (sledding, ice rinks, etc.). Sidewalks and trails are maintained, although second priority to roads for obvious reasons. The airport does as good as any I've seen to manage the cold, snow, and ice.