Who Has the Best Snow in the East?

Cultivating snow snobbery at a young age.  The author's son at Alta, UT, April 30, 2011.

If there is one thing that skiers like to argue about it is who has the best snow (or terrain).  Living in Utah, a state that has trademarked the phrase Greatest Snow on Earth, I was infected by powder snobbery many years ago and have often participated vociferously in these arguments.

Of course "best" or "greatest" cannot be scientifically evaluated as they are ultimately a reflection of the eye of the beholder.  From a skiing perspective, if you are looking for great snow, there are probably three key factors to consider:

1. Quality: Typically determined by the water content of the snow, although there are other factors (see item 3 below)

2. Quantity: How much snow falls.

3. Intangibles: How does the snow fall?  How frequent and large are the storms?  Does the snow tend to fall right-side-up or upside down?  Is the area prone to rain-on-snow events? Etc.

The intangibles are important because contrary to popular belief, the best powder skiing is not found in the driest (i.e., low water content) snow, but in "snow with enough body to provide good flotation for the running ski" (a nod to the late Avalanche Hunter Ed LaChapelle for this quote).  Typically flotation is best in snowfalls that have decreasing water content with time, so that dry, lower water content snow sits on top of higher (but not too high) water content snow.  Such a snowfall, known to powder aficionados as right-side up, typically requires storms that start out warmer and get colder with time.

In contrast, more difficult powder skiing is produced by snowfalls that have increasing water content with time, so that wet, higher water content snow sits on top of lower water content snow.  Such a snowfall is called upside down and creates more difficult skiing conditions because the skis tend to punch or dive through the higher density snow and remain submerged in the low density snow.

Utah's "claim" on the Greatest Snow on Earth is based primarily on the snow climate of the Cottonwood Canyons east of Salt Lake City.  The Cottonwoods are special because they have a combination of quantity (500+ inches per year above about 8500 feet), quality (8.4% water content on average), and intangibles.  Those intangibles include a storm climatology that favors lots of goldilocks storms.  Goldilocks storms aren't too big (bad for avalanches), aren't too small (powder skiing requires at least 10 inches of fresh snow), but are just right (Alta averages 17.4 days per season with 10 inches or more of snow).  In addition, the storm climatology in the Cottonwoods favors right-side up snowfalls.  The 8.4% average water content of snow in the Cottonwoods is not unusually low.  You can find drier snow on average across much of Colorado.  The problem there and in many other regions that get drier snow is quantity – deep powder dumps are simply less common.

So, Utah has a pretty good claim on the Greatest Snow on Earth if powder skiing is your yardstick.  Of course, one can make a strong argument for a few other regions.  As discussed in my forthcoming book, Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth, which will be published next fall by the University Press of Colorado, portions of the Teton Range have a snow climatology very similar to that in the Cottonwoods.  Portions of Japan, especially Hokkaido Island, also have a remarkable snow climate due to exceptional sea-effect snowfalls produced by the Sea of Japan.  I personally like interior British Columbia, although it is a bit more susceptible to rain and rime events depending on elevation.

But the focus of this post is the eastern United States and natural snowfall (sorry Hunter Mountain, but your claim of Snowmaking Capitol of the World impresses me not).  We have been measuring snow here on the Tug Hill Plateau and during lake-effect storms we have found an average water content of only 5.8%.  I was so impressed by this that I quipped at one of our meetings last week that the Tug Hill was now home to the Greatest Snow in the World, which served as a great headline for an article by Syracuse Post-Standard reporter Glenn Coin.

Syracuse Post-Standard

Yup, that was a juicy quote, served up on a platter during a presentation with my usual gusto.  Of course, the Tug does get great snow and they have a legitimate claim to the most intense snow storms in the world.  However, the fickle climate of the northeast makes snow conditions on the Tug quite variable and the mean snowfall is not sufficient to knock Utah and others from their lofty perch as contenders for world champion (skiers might bemoan the lack of big mountains too).

On the other hand, the Tug has a very strong claim on the greatest snow in the eastern United States.  The other contenders are the Keweenaw Peninsula which extends northeastward into Lake Superior from Michigan's upper peninsula, and Jay Peak in northern Vermont.  One of the challenges in refereeing this eastern U.S. beat down is a lack of official weather records.  I will piece together what I can with what is available.  

Tug Hill Plateau, NY

Tug Hill Plateau provides what is probably the largest contiguous area in the eastern United States with an average annual snowfall of 200 inches or more.  According to data provided by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the average annual snowfall at Hooker/Montague in the northern part of the Tug Hill Plateau was 240 inches from 1981-2010, and it is likely snowier in the area north of Redfield on the western slope of the Tug.  This abundant snowfall makes the Tug the most reliable region for natural snow in the northeast with the rolling terrain ideal for snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.  The steepest, most abrupt topography is on the eastern side where Snow Ridge Ski Area claims an average snowfall of 230 inches, which seems reasonable.  Most of this snow is lake effect that typically features a relatively low water content.  

Snow Ridge: Modest vertical, but big snows.  Even in a poor snow year in the east, plenty of snow to ski here.  This photo was taken on 17 January.

Keweenaw Peninsula, MI

According to data provided by NCDC, the average annual snowfall at Hancock Houghton County Airport is 208 inches (F thumbnail below), and weather historian Christopher Burt reports an average annual snowfall in Herman of 236 inches, but snowfall is probably greater at upper elevations.  Mt. Bohemia near the upper tip of the peninsula (H thumbnail below) serves up 900 vertical feet and claims an average of 273 inches, which seems reasonable.

Source: Acme Mapper

Further, most of this snowfall is lake effect and likely has very low water content.  Long-term records collected by National Weather Service volunteer observers suggests this area receives some of the driest snow in the United States, comparable to that found over the western interior. 

Source: Steenburgh (2014), adapted from Baxter et al. (2005)

Jay Peak, etc.

Near the summits of the higher peaks of Vermont, New Hampshire (especially the Presidential Range), and Maine, snowfall likely exceeds 200 inches at many locations.   The only NCDC observing site that I am aware of near the summit of these peaks, however, is Mount Mansfield, with an average of 244 inches at nearly 4000 feet elevation.  Many ski areas do not report snowfall officially, but Tony Crocker has compiled quite a bit of miscellaneous data at bestsnow.net (note his caveat about snow reporting not being an exact science).  These reports are unofficial and sometimes use non-standard recording practices.  The period of averaging likely varies, but there is sufficient evidence to conclude that most of the higher peaks in central and northern Vermont likely receive more than 200 inches.  Jay Peak is commonly cited as the snowiest eastern resort and Tony's data certainly suggests this is the case.  The resort suggests an annual snowfall of 377 inches.  That seems high to me, but something over 300 may be possible (Jay Peakers feel free to cast stones).  Jay sees a greater diversity of storms than Mt. Bohemia or Snow Ridge, and the net result of this is somewhat higher water content snow.  That's not always bad, but perhaps deep dumps of cold smoke are a bit more common at Mt. Bohemia or Snow Ridge, although as noted earlier, right-side-up snowfalls are the key to great powder skiing and it's tough to gauge that intangible from climatological averages.

Summary

So, for the eastern snow aficionados, you're looking at the Keweenaw Peninsula, Tug Hill Plateau, or the peaks of northern Vermont.  Who has the best snow?  I'll call it a toss up and let you argue in the comments.