Storm hazard · NOAA Storm Events Database
Heavy Snow in the United States
National statistics for heavy snow events from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015–2025): how often they occur, where they hit hardest, and the human and property toll.
- 27,977
- Events recorded
- 98
- Fatalities
- $266.6M
- Property damage
- 50
- States affected
How dangerous are Heavy Snow events in the U.S.?
NOAA's Storm Events Database has catalogued 27,977 heavy snow events across 50 states and territories between 2015 and 2025. The cumulative human toll is 98 fatalities and 283 injuries, and the financial footprint reaches $283.0M in combined property ($266.6M) and crop ($16.4M) damage. On a per-fatality basis this places heavy snow events at a high severity tier relative to other tracked hazard types in the NOAA catalog.
Geographic exposure skews toward a small cluster of frequently-hit states. The three states absorbing the largest share of events are CA (2,071 events, 6 fatalities), WA (1,874 events, 5 fatalities), ID (1,667 events, 1 fatalities), a mix of underlying hazard climatology and how many people live in the exposed corridor. At the other end, states such as MD, DE, HI report far fewer events, a meaningfully lower-frequency pattern there, though local vigilance still matters.
Annual totals swing noticeably from year to year. The peak year on record was 2022, logging 4,636 events and $2.3M in property damage in a single calendar year. The most recent year in the dataset is 2025 with 3,608 events recorded. Across the full 11-year window, annual event counts reflect seasonal climate cycles and, for some years, longer climate-driven shifts in frequency.
How to interpret this data
NOAA storm event data is filed by local National Weather Service forecast offices, so reporting intensity can vary by jurisdiction and should be interpreted alongside FEMA disaster declarations for a fuller picture.
For household and business preparedness, this state-and-year view should be paired with local-level FEMA National Risk Index ratings, flood-zone maps where applicable, and up-to-date NWS watch/warning information, population exposure and asset value matter as much as raw event frequency for estimating real-world risk.
Heavy Snow by State
| # | State | Events | Fatalities | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California CA | 2,071 | 6 | $1.6M |
| 2 | Washington WA | 1,874 | 5 | $2.4M |
| 3 | Idaho ID | 1,667 | 1 | $100.9M |
| 4 | Minnesota MN | 1,420 | 10 | $1.0M |
| 5 | Colorado CO | 1,366 | 0 | $1.0K |
| 6 | North Dakota ND | 1,119 | 0 | $650.0K |
| 7 | New Mexico NM | 1,101 | 9 | $4.0M |
| 8 | Nevada NV | 1,091 | 0 | $123.0K |
| 9 | Montana MT | 1,055 | 6 | $253.0K |
| 10 | Kentucky KY | 1,022 | 5 | $345.0K |
| 11 | Maine ME | 886 | 0 | $0 |
| 12 | Wisconsin WI | 855 | 2 | $490.0K |
| 13 | West Virginia WV | 830 | 1 | $1.1M |
| 14 | Oregon OR | 724 | 2 | $139.3M |
| 15 | Tennessee TN | 718 | 9 | $0 |
| 16 | New York NY | 707 | 1 | $1.4M |
| 17 | Illinois IL | 614 | 2 | $325.0K |
| 18 | Utah UT | 567 | 2 | $2.4M |
| 19 | South Dakota SD | 563 | 1 | $0 |
| 20 | Wyoming WY | 526 | 4 | $0 |
| 21 | Alaska AK | 525 | 0 | $0 |
| 22 | Indiana IN | 491 | 4 | $1.9M |
| 23 | Kansas KS | 469 | 1 | $0 |
| 24 | Texas TX | 454 | 1 | $361.0K |
| 25 | Arizona AZ | 448 | 0 | $55.0K |
| 26 | Massachusetts MA | 442 | 4 | $731.9K |
| 27 | Missouri MO | 381 | 0 | $400.0K |
| 28 | Virginia VA | 361 | 0 | $116.0K |
| 29 | New Hampshire NH | 344 | 0 | $0 |
| 30 | Michigan MI | 330 | 0 | $800.0K |
| 31 | Nebraska NE | 303 | 0 | $35.0K |
| 32 | Iowa IA | 294 | 0 | $10.0K |
| 33 | Pennsylvania PA | 294 | 0 | $1.4M |
| 34 | Oklahoma OK | 287 | 0 | $0 |
| 35 | North Carolina NC | 278 | 0 | $20.0K |
| 36 | Mississippi MS | 202 | 3 | $2.2M |
| 37 | Connecticut CT | 178 | 0 | $53.0K |
| 38 | Arkansas AR | 173 | 0 | $110.0K |
| 39 | Ohio OH | 164 | 0 | $1.7M |
| 40 | Alabama AL | 147 | 2 | $0 |
| 41 | Louisiana LA | 122 | 14 | $220.0K |
| 42 | New Jersey NJ | 112 | 1 | $0 |
| 43 | Rhode Island RI | 109 | 0 | $105.0K |
| 44 | South Carolina SC | 97 | 2 | $0 |
| 45 | Georgia GA | 87 | 0 | $0 |
| 46 | Florida FL | 42 | 0 | $0 |
| 47 | Vermont VT | 33 | 0 | $0 |
| 48 | Maryland MD | 25 | 0 | $8.0K |
| 49 | Delaware DE | 6 | 0 | $0 |
| 50 | Hawaii HI | 3 | 0 | $0 |
Heavy Snow by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,608 | 22 | 14 | $3.9M |
| 2024 | 2,210 | 12 | 15 | $1.3M |
| 2023 | 2,540 | 5 | 33 | $26.3M |
| 2022 | 4,636 | 10 | 14 | $2.3M |
| 2021 | 2,236 | 9 | 17 | $2.4M |
| 2020 | 1,792 | 4 | 5 | $497.5K |
| 2019 | 2,881 | 10 | 116 | $21.5M |
| 2018 | 2,294 | 6 | 18 | $1.7M |
| 2017 | 1,705 | 5 | 6 | $202.2M |
| 2016 | 1,518 | 5 | 17 | $3.0M |
| 2015 | 2,557 | 10 | 28 | $1.4M |
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many heavy snow events have occurred in the US?
Which states are most affected by heavy snow events?
How much damage do heavy snow events cause?
What year had the most heavy snow events?
How dangerous are heavy snow events?
Which states have the fewest heavy snow events?
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (2015-2025) NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FEMA federal disaster data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, or report a data error.