Winter Weather
NOAA Storm Events type · 85,170 records since 1996 · 51 states and territories
The National Weather Service defines winter weather as: "A winter precipitation event that causes a death, injury, or a significant impact to commerce or transportation, but does not meet locally/regionally defined warning criteria." NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 85,170 winter weather records from 1996 through June 30, 2026, the most in Colorado (5,859), with 1,093 deaths recorded.
How the National Weather Service files winter weather
A winter precipitation event that causes a death, injury, or a significant impact to commerce or transportation, but does not meet locally/regionally defined warning criteria. A Winter Weather event could result from one or more winter precipitation types (snow, or blowing/drifting snow, or freezing rain/drizzle).
National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (July 26, 2021), Appendix A, entry 55
Source: National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605. Read the instruction (PDF).
Winter Weather, 1996 to 2026
Records per year (2026 to June 30, 2026).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $10 million
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 85,1701996 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths
- 1,0936,532 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $174Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Counties with a record
- 2,897of 3,266
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026. Search the record at NCEI.
Where do winter weather records happen?
States
Counties
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).
When do winter weather records happen?
55% of its winter weather records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January.
The values, month by month
Jan 24,533 · Feb 21,944 · Mar 9,763 · Apr 3,298 · May 496 · Jun 60 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 140 · Oct 1,715 · Nov 5,877 · Dec 17,344 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
The deadliest winter weather records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-01-07 | Winter WeatherSan Diego County, CA · forecast zone San Diego County Mountains Persistent northerly flow and low pressure aloft along the west coast, resulted in a prolonged period of cold and snow for the San Diego Mountains. Up to 18 inches of snow was reported over the higher elevations of the Laguna Mountains, with temperatures dipping into the upper teens and twenties at night. Undocumented ... | 14 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-02-11 | Winter WeatherTarrant County, TX · forecast zone Tarrant Law enforcement reported a 133 vehicle pile-up, including tractor trailers, along the Interstate 35W south express lanes resulted in 6 deaths and 101 injuries in the city of Fort Worth, TX. The accident occurred along a half-mile icy patch between NE 28th Street and Northside Drive. | 6 | 101 | $2.2M | |
| 2022-03-28 | Winter WeatherSchuylkill County, PA · forecast zone Schuylkill SNOW SQUALL. A snow squall passed over I-81 in Schuylkill County shortly after 10:30am (EDT) on March 28, 2022, causing an 80 vehicle pileup at mile marker 116 on the northbound lanes that resulted in 6 fatalities, an additional 24 injuries, and closed the northbound lanes between mile markers 107 and 119 for more ... | 6 | 24 | – | |
| 2004-01-06 | Winter WeatherClinton County, PA · forecast zone Southern Clinton | 6 | 12 | $2.3M | |
| 2006-11-26 | Winter WeatherBuffalo County, NE · forecast zone Buffalo Freezing drizzle caused area roads to become slick in spots, especially bridges and overpasses. These conditions may have contributed to a fatal accident on Interstate 80 near the Shelton exit in Buffalo county. The driver of a westbound pickup lost control, cross the median, and collided with an eastbound pickup. ... | 5 | 2 | $29K | |
| 2007-03-16 | Winter WeatherGloucester County, NJ · forecast zone Gloucester A nor'easter caused sleet to fall across the greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area and the Raritan Basin and heavy snow and sleet to fall across northwestern New Jersey. The nor'easter caused thousands of accidents and six known fatalities. New Jersey State Police responded to over 2,000 calls for assistance. There ... | 4 | 14 | – | |
| 2018-11-14 | Winter WeatherPulaski County, AR · forecast zone Pulaski The observer reported 0.8 inches of snow in the last 24 hours ending at 7 am on 11/15/18 3 miles north of North Little Rock. There were 4 deaths and 2 injuries due to auto accidents on slick roads. | 4 | 2 | – | |
| 2008-02-01 | Winter WeatherColumbia County, NY · forecast zone Western Columbia A 39 year old woman died after her car slid off a road and hit a tree in Elizaville at approximately 1242 EST. She was driving southbound on Route 19 when she lost control of her car. Icy roads from freezing rain were believed to be a contributing factor in the accident. In addition, 3 people were killed, while one ... | 4 | 1 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, deaths direct and indirect as filed.
The most recent winter weather records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-07 | Winter WeatherIdaho County, ID · forecast zone Southern Clearwater Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-21 | Winter WeatherCarbon County, WY · forecast zone Central Carbon County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-18 | Winter WeatherGrand County and San Juan County, UT · forecast zone La Sal & Abajo Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-18 | Winter WeatherBoulder County and 2 more, CO · forecast zone Boulder & Jefferson Counties Below 6000 Feet / W Broomfield County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-18 | Winter WeatherJackson County, CO · forecast zone Jackson County Below 9000 Feet | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-17 | Winter WeatherDaggett County and Uintah County, UT · forecast zone Eastern Uinta Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-17 | Winter WeatherMoffat County and Routt County, CO · forecast zone Elkhead And Park Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-17 | Winter WeatherLemhi County, ID · forecast zone Eastern Lemhi County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.