Why Storm Depth Matters More Than Snowfall for a Snowblower

The number people check first

Ask whether a town needs a snowblower and most people quote its snowfall. It is the wrong place to start. A winter of forty inches that arrives two inches at a time is an easy morning with a shovel every week. The same forty inches in four storms of ten means four mornings of moving over a ton of snow each, and that is what breaks backs and small machines.

Of the 1,531 towns here that get at least a foot of snow a year, 72 get forty inches or more and still land on a shovel or a cordless machine for a two car driveway, because their snow comes in shallow falls. The snowiest of them are Hibbing, MN (60 in), Grand Rapids, MN (60 in), Fairbanks, AK (58 in).

Deep storms push the answer up

Going the other way, 66 towns get less than forty inches a year and still need a two-stage machine, because a storm of ten inches or more comes at least every other winter. The least snowy of those are New York, NY (25 in), Long Branch, NJ (25 in), Asbury Park, NJ (25 in). Of all 319 two-stage towns, 250 get there on deep storms, not on the total.

The reason is the intake. A single-stage machine's auger is about 8 inches tall; above that it pushes snow instead of eating it. See single-stage or two-stage for how often that happens.

Snow that melts before the next fall

The other half is whether snow stays. In 24 of the snowy towns, snow on the ground usually melts before the next fall, so a late shovelling or a sunny afternoon does part of the work. Where it stays for weeks, every storm lands on the last one, and the piles at the end of the driveway get taller all winter. Each town page shows both figures beside the verdict.

What to check for your town

Look past the total to two lines on the town page: how often ten inches falls at once, and how many days a year have three inches or more, which is the clearing count. Then check what that weight means on your driveway in what a winter of snow weighs.