Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Valdez may be the northern most ice-free port in North America, but it gets 326 inches (828 cm) of snow per year. Does anyone else on the coast get this much snow? The next snowiest places in Alaska are Main Bay (266 inches), Haines (262 inches), and Whittier (261 inches).
The amazing part is that Pleasant Camp (the summit between Haines, AK and Haines Junction, Yukon) doesn't even get that much (only gets 285 in/724 cm). Same goes for the White Pass station (277 in/703 cm).
When we look at sea level, nothing I can find compares to Valdez. In Canada we have a few snowy places like Woody Point, Newfoundland that gets 251 in/638 cm and Stewart, BC with 224 in/570 cm, but that's as close we can get to Valdez.
The city of Aomori, Japan gets similar amounts of snow to Valdez. The official weather station there records an annual average of 263 inches, but some areas in its metro get a much higher average of around 315 inches per year. I don't know about any coastal areas which get 400+ inches. The incredible part is that Aomori is a fairly large city (~300k people). I would be willing to bet that there are coastal locations in Tohoku and Hokkaido that get more snow than Valdez.
I doubt that Grytviken receives more snow than Valdez. To me, half of winter precipitation there is liquid.
Anyways, there are likely some spots on the western coast of Hokkaido which are snowier than Valdez, although one may argue that they are not on an ocean. Some stations actually receive more snow than Valdez according to JMA, although data could be somewhat influenced by wind in some cases. Aomori was snowier than Valdez until the '90s, while today it has an average of "only" 285 inches.
There are some other strong competitors around the world, however, like the area between the Curil Islands and Kamchatka, the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and especially the southeastern tip of Greenland which could be even snowier than Hokkaido and might be the snowiest of all. Outside Japan there are absolutely no accumulation data, though.
Also, Valdez is a little less snowy than what you said; it had a 71-00 average of 298 inches according to NOAA.
Using the 1981-2010 period, it's 326 inches (VALDEZ WSO station).
It had a 1971-2000 average of 297,7 inches according to the table downloadable here (station ID 509686): Index of /climatenormals/clim20/ak
I don't believe that the last 14 years have been so snowier than the previous 30, so I guess it is a different station (the airport maybe?).
Shalop: Sukayu Onsen, although close to Aomori, is definitely not coastal since it is at an altitude of more than 800 mt (2620 ft). It is not the snowiest place for its altitude, by the way.
Shalop: Sukayu Onsen, although close to Aomori, is definitely not coastal since it is at an altitude of more than 800 mt (2620 ft). It is not the snowiest place for its altitude, by the way.
That's a lot of snow. Looking at the snowiest places in Canada at that elevation, I can't find anything that snowy. The BC mining site of UNUK RIVER ESKAY CREEK (56.6525, -130.4461111, 887m elevation) averages 1298.6 cm (511 inches) of snow per year. Further south, TAHTSA LAKE WEST (53.61666667, -127.7, 862.6m) averages 975.7 cm (384 inches).
That's a lot of snow. Looking at the snowiest places in Canada at that elevation, I can't find anything that snowy. The BC mining site of UNUK RIVER ESKAY CREEK (56.6525, -130.4461111, 887m elevation) averages 1298.6 cm (511 inches) of snow per year. Further south, TAHTSA LAKE WEST (53.61666667, -127.7, 862.6m) averages 975.7 cm (384 inches).
I didn't know BC could be so snowy at that elevation! Anyway, I was referring to the fact that Sukayu isn't the snowier place in Japan.
As for Valdez, I'm not doubting your source; I'm only saying that two different data exist and they are maybe recorded by two different stations.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
