![]() ![]() Official NWS records normally do not include snowfall measurements for short durations of time. ![]() Most of these reports are from unofficial sources such as snow spotters, transportation departments and members of the general public. In the table below (Figure 2) I included reports of snowfall for periods as short as 20 minutes. Another good take on the issue (and an explanation of how official snow measurements are made) was written by UCAR’s Matt Kelsch, who has been measuring snowfall as a NWS COOP in Boulder, Colorado for over 25 years. The difficulty in "accurately" measuring snowfall is well explained by Deke Arndt, the person in charge of NOAA’s national extreme weather records database. Observers in the NWS Cooperative Observer Program ( COOP) usually make only one snow measurement every 24 hours, as is also the case for the nationwide CoCoRaHS program (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network). This normally employs a snowboard and measuring stick, with measurements made once every six hours. In the U.S., official National Weather Service sites follow strict criteria in the measurement of snowfall accumulations. In Europe and elsewhere, only liquid water (the melted component of frozen precipitation) is measured actual snowfall accumulations are rarely reported outside of specialized locations such as research stations. Interestingly, the U.S., Canada, and Japan are the only countries on Earth that regularly maintain detailed snowfall statistics. Over the years I have attempted to determine what the greatest snowfall totals for select periods of time have been for locations in the U.S. The second event was an unprecedented lake-effect snowstorm in Erie, Pennsylvania, that buried the city under 65.1” that accumulated during a 72-hour period on December 24-27. The first was at Thompson Pass, Alaska, where a phenomenal 15” of snow apparently accumulated in just a 90-minute period on December 6. Image credit: via .ĭecember 2017 featured two extraordinary snow events. 26, 2017, after a lake-effect snowstorm dumped enough to shatter not only city records, but also at least one all-time Pennsylvania snowstorm record. Above: A neighborhood in Erie, Pennsylvania, is buried in snow on Dec. ![]()
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