Snowiest Day On Record: Where Washington Has Seen The Most Snow

Only a few centenarians may remember April 15, 1921, the day it snowed 76 inches in Boulder County, Colorado. Snowfall records for a single day aren’t quite as impressive in Washington, but Mount Rainier comes pretty close.

Historical weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows every state in the country, even tropical Hawaii, has seen snow. A February 1936 storm that dumped 6½ inches of snow on Maui was impressive even by Midwest and Northeast standards. The only other time that Hawaii had an extreme snowfall was in December 1958, when the Big Island got 4½ inches.

In Washington, the biggest one-day snowfall total ever recorded was in Pierce County at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park. According to NOAA records, 70 inches of snow fell there on Nov. 26, 1955.

The record in King County is courtesy of Stevens Pass, where 45 inches of snow fell on Jan. 2, 1965.

In Snohomish County, Everett takes the crown, with 24.1 inches recorded Feb. 2, 1916.

With two months of winter left, anything could happen. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicted a cold, snowy winter throughout much of the United States, with at least seven big snowstorms from one coast to the other.

In our state, the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicted a "snow-verload" and a the possibility of a "parade of snowstorms" east of the Cascades.

The competing Farmers’ Almanac predicts that the eastern two-thirds of the United States can expect a snowy ride through the rest of the winter. In the northwest, the Farmers’ Almanac predicts largely fair weather, with the possibility for some storms in Februrary.

In the short term, the seven-day National Weather Service prediction for our area calls for steady rain showers and mountain snow in the days ahead.