Places where elevation plays a major role in snowfall total? (warm, record)
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The coast of New England can still get sizable snow and ice storms during nor’easters despite being considerably milder in winter than interior New England….
Do the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway sometime. You enter the base stations surrounded by palm trees, get out at 8,500 feet in a snowy alpine area less than 15 minutes later.
Some other snowy places in the western Balkans (due to altitude) which are close to the coast - Zavižan has average annual accumulation of snow 436 cm, Begovo Razdolje 548 cm, Orjen 561 cm, Snežnik 614 cm, Bjelolasica 677 cm.
When I think about big snowfall amounts, I think about microclimates with orographic lift. For example, the eastern side of the Green Mountains in Vermont have microclimates that get 200”+ of snow. The relatively warmer/more humid air gets pushed up the western slope, cools, and comes down on the eastern side as snow. Jay Peak is the extreme example in Vermont with 355” of average snowfall. Stowe/Mt Mansfield gets ~ 300”.
You see the same thing in Utah. Alta/Snowbird get 600” of snow.
In those places, you have lots of days where you get 6” of light snow from the lenticular cloud where the western slope gets nothing.
Lake effect is the other microclimate that does it but that tends to be early in winter before the lake cools down.
Pretty much the entire state of New Hampshire except the seacoast. I'm around 1,600 ft above sea level and we get more than the seacoast. Those who live near (and a few who do) or in the Whites can expect heavier snowfalls and having snow on the ground 6 months a year at least depending on how high and what side of the mountain/hill you're on.
Next question would be - where in the world is this effect most pronounced?
There would be quite a few places that don't get snow, while nearby mountains do, but I think my location might be a serious contender for being the most extreme version of that - can see snow about 10 months of the year, only 15km, it lies on the ground for around 100 days only 10km away, it lies on the ground 3-5 times a winter, only a 10 minute drive away, yet falls here so infrequently, that most people living here have never seen it here.
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