We’ve seen snow in NYC this winter, but not like this! The little village of Copenhagen has been named the snowiest place in the U.S.–no, not Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen, New York (and not Gowanus, either)!
Copenhagen is a small village in Lewis County, New York, situated between Watertown and Lowville. The population was just over 600 at the 2020 census, but what it lacks in residents it makes up for with snow–according to the NY Upstate weather team, 257 inches of snow has already fallen over the village this season–that’s 120 inches more snow than average, which is the amount Syracuse, the nation’s snowiest large city, gets in an entire year! To give you a better idea of how much snow 257 inches is, it’s the height of a two-story building.
According to data compiled by the National Regional Climate Centers database, the only populated place in the U.S. that comes close to competing with Copenhagen’s mounds of snow this winter is the ski village of Alta, Utah, with 217 inches. NY Upstate writes that five feet of snow fell in just three days in early December, and four more feet fell in just three days in January. And since temperatures aren’t climbing any higher, the snow isn’t going anywhere.
Tunnels of snow have replaced the sidewalks and cars covered in snow pose as 6-foot tall mounds. But this isn’t exactly a surprise; Copenhagen is situated in such a way that western winds are constantly blowing moisture across Lake Ontario, making for relentless winters. Copenhagen was also named the snowiest place in the country during the 2014-2015 winter.
And while the climate centers database shows that there may actually be other locations in the U.S. with more snow than Copenhagen, no one lives in those places.