Posted on Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 10:45 a.m.
Top 10 storm snowfall totals for the Ann Arbor area
By Cindy Heflin
An Ann Arbor resident shovels snow on William Street after a February 2008 snowstorm.
File photo
If the Ann Arbor area gets the 12-13 inches of snow the National Weather Service is predicting during tonight's blizzard, it won't be anywhere near the biggest snowfall in our history.
When was the most recent large snowfall? 2008.
When did we see the most snow? 1974.
And when did most of the largest snowfalls occur? January.
Here's a list of the top 10 largest snowfalls in Ann Arbor, compiled by University of Michigan weather observer Dennis Kahlbaum, based on records going back to 1880:
- Dec. 1-2, 1974: 19.8 inches
- Jan. 26-27, 1967: 17 inches
- Jan. 3-4, 1999: 15.9 inches
- March 18-19, 1973 14.6 inches
- Jan 30-31 of 2002, 14.5 inches
- Jan. 25 -26, 1978: 13.6 inches
- Dec. 11-12, 2000: 13.1 inches
- Jan. 14-15, 1992: 12.5 inches
- Jan. 1- 2, 2008, 12.3 inches
- Dec. 18-19, 1929: 12 inches
Comments
Will Warner
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 3:55 a.m.
@breadman I remember an ice storm from eariler in the 1960's (64?) that so blanket the area that you could skate almost literally anywhere you wanted. I've got 8mm films of a neighborhood girl skating up and down Creal Cresent, across Creal Park and even up and down the hills near Forsythe JH. M14 was under construction at the time (that could date it) and for a couple days it was a long, straight ice rink just north of Wines school. Now if I just had an 8mm movie projector...
a2girl
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 3:39 a.m.
Breadman - What a memory that is! The ice was so thick on the sidewalks that it made for fairly smooth skating. I think it would have been around 1973 or 74.
breadman
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 1:56 a.m.
Pizzaman! The guy on 7th that did the big snowman passed away and the the guy that had the big santa claues on the screen in front porch passed away. That was my stomping grounds to deliver the Detroit Free Press papers many years back. About the time you came around the paper route was over. You are in the age group of my sister. All my brothers and sister and I went to Haisley started in the mid 60's.
garrisondyer
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 1:16 a.m.
I have some very fond memories of the snow storm of '99. That, combined with the new 6-speaker stereo for my bedroom made for a fantastic 16th birthday on the 4th!
LB
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 12:49 a.m.
AH, all you people with good memory's. I can't even remember the snowfall from 3years ago. Let alone 1999!
Colorado_Jeff
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 11:48 p.m.
In 74 it was all rear wheel drive . In fact that's how all the winters were in the 70's. Pushing cars all over the place. even to get up the driveway! No 4WD, no FWD. Had a lot of fun in Pioneer's parking lot though...Stay safe everyone!
Arieswoman
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 9:31 p.m.
Cindy....thanks for this article. Very interesting! I sure remember the blizzard of '74. Stay in and stay warm!
Pizza Man
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 8:46 p.m.
I am not quite as old as some of you but I remember walking to Haisley school everyday and there being huge piles of snow at the sides of the driveways. I also remember huge piles of snow in the Haisley parking lot. On the way home from school I would walk through those piles to see how deep the snow was (that must have pissed off the people that shoveled). I am 36 now, and I haven't seen snow piled up like that in a long time. I don't think it was the fact that I was smaller than I am now and it just seemed like a lot of snow. I think we got more snow back them. Maybe it wasn't all at once but, I think it was more. There was a guy that lived on S. 7th that would make a huge snow man when I was younger. It had to have been at least 6 feet tall, just from the snow in his yard. I haven't seen anyone make one of that size in a long time.
breadman
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 8:05 p.m.
Those dates all make me feel old. Cash! I am like you, I can remember them all but # 10! Walking to Haisley School. Can anyone look up the year from 1968 to about 1976 when Ann Arbor had the bad ice storm when we got too ice skate to school because it was the only safe way there? That or walk barefoot, freeze your piggies off!
81wolverine
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 7:46 p.m.
I remember the 1974 one living in Birmingham. It hit right at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend as I recall - missed 3 days of school but made a ton of money shovelling snow! The 1978 storm actually resulted in cancelling classes at U-M. I was a freshman staying in the dorm and remember hauling all my drafting stuff and books to class early in the a.m. only to find out classes were cancelled. Back to the dorm. But, we ended up having a tackle football game in the middle of Palmer Field that p.m.! Memories.
ummsw
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 6:54 p.m.
I remember living on 5th Ave in 1978 (while in grad school) and my car was buried for a month.
xmo
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 5:47 p.m.
It looks like the "end of the world" since the 9 biggest snowfalls have happened in the last 50 years! (We can just skip 1929 since it doesn't fit our template.)
MB111
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 5:25 p.m.
Clark, these records go back to 1880. There are 3 Billion years unaccounted for. i would hardly classify this as a real trend.
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 5:20 p.m.
Clark, I'm not sure the size of snow storms says much about climate change either way. Nashville Tennessee gets as much snow annually as the South Pole does.
clark
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:31 p.m.
Isn't it interesting how 3/10 (perhaps 4/10 by the end of the week) of largest snowfalls on the 130-year record occurred within the last 10 years, and 5/10 occurred within the last 20 years? I won't be so bold as to claim it as local evidence of global climate change, but it does stop and make you think.
John B.
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 9:12 p.m.
Actually, more episodes of extreme weather are EXACTLY what you get from climate change. More extreme heat in the summer, more droughts, more 'hundred-year' floods, more severe rains, more snowfalls. Overall, the temperatures of the earth are getting warmer, but you get more extreme weather fluctuations during the (most any) year.... 'Global warming' does not mean that every point on the globe is warmer today than it was last week, last month, or even last year.
clark
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:33 p.m.
OK, I can't count, Dec 2000 was slightly over 10 years ago. Still writing 2010 on my checks. But still...
Cash
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:21 p.m.
I remember all of them but #10. Thanks for the list Cindy....but, man, do I feel old.
Matt Whale
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:35 p.m.
I voted you up because I remember them all too (except the '29 one)
toofmullets
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:17 p.m.
I remember shoveling the 1999 snow. UGH. Glad I have a snowblower now.
Matt Whale
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:09 p.m.
I remember the '74 snowstorm. Brutal. Especially thank the Police, Fire Department and Amulance drivers who have to drive out in this blizzard.
goodthoughts
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:04 p.m.
Thank you for posting this and ending the arguments in my house over when the last major snowfall was.