This chart ranks the snowiest inhabited places on Earth by average annual snowfall, in centimetres. Japan's mountainous Honshu coast, hit by cold winds off the Sea of Japan, dominates the world's snow records.
About: Snowiest Places in the World by Annual Snowfall
Overview of the data behind this chartAI Insight
Sukayu Onsen, a hot-spring resort high in Japan's Hakkoda Mountains, is the snowiest inhabited place on Earth, buried under about 1,764 cm, nearly 18 metres, of snow a year. Among major cities, Aomori (792 cm) tops the world, followed by Sapporo (485 cm) and Toyama (363 cm), giving Japan a clean sweep of the top spots. The reason is a unique geography: frigid Siberian winds sweep across the relatively warm Sea of Japan, pick up huge amounts of moisture, then dump it as snow when they hit Japan's mountains. Outside Japan, Syracuse, New York (315 cm) is among the snowiest large cities, fed by lake-effect snow off the Great Lakes, the same mechanism on a smaller scale. The enormous gap between Sukayu Onsen and everywhere else shows how dramatically local terrain can amplify snowfall.
Key Findings
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Snowiest Places in the World by Annual Snowfall
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chartCategory Rankings
Average Annual Snowfall (cm) · All Time| # | Category | All Time |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Sukayu Onsen (Japan) | 1,764 |
| 🥈 | Aomori (Japan) | 792 |
| 🥉 | Sapporo (Japan) | 485 |
| 4 | Toyama (Japan) | 363 |
| 5 | Syracuse (USA) | 315 |
What This Data Shows
Auto-generated trend summaries per categoryFull Data Table
5 records across 1 yearData Sources & References
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