Annual Snowfall Totals

Two plows remove snow on partially covered road.
It takes a lot of work every year to clear park roads of the huge amounts of snow that fall every year in Mount Rainier National Park!

NPS Photo

The Paradise area at Mount Rainier (elevation of 5,400 feet) is known for its snowfall. Paradise once held the world record for measured snowfall in single year in 1971-1972: 1,122 inches (93.5 feet/28.5 meters). A new low snowfall record for Paradise was set in 2014-2015 with 266 inches (22.2 feet/6.7 meters), previously set in 1939-1940. Snowfall is measured at the official Paradise weather station and is recorded in inches. To include the full winter season, snowfall is recorded from July 1st to June 30th.

 

Annual Snowfall in inches, listed by year 1920-2023

1920-21: 671
1921-22: 723
1922-23: 565
1923-24: 551
1924-25: 674
1925-26: 373
1926-27: 588
1927-28: 405
1928-29: 554
1929-30: 390
1930-31: 444
1931-32: 751
1932-33: 624
1933-34: 316
1934-35: 543
1935-36: 605
1936-37: 693
1937-38: 511
1938-39: 573
1939-40: 313
1940-41: 529
1941-42: 446
1942-43: 529
1943-46: Road to Paradise closed during World War II. No weather records available.
1946-47: 529
1947-48: 661
1948-54: Records for Paradise weather not available.
1954-55: 788
1955-56: 1,000
1956-57: 619
1957-58: 602
1958-59: 646
1959-60: 564
1960-61: 685
1961-62: 545
1962-63: 452
1963-64: 429
1964-65: 538
1965-66: 583
1966-67: 692
1967-68: 502
1968-69: 829
1969-70: 649
1970-71: 884
1971-72: 1,122 (high)
1972-73: 577
1973-74: 1,070
1974-75: 820
1975-76: 858
1976-77: 414
1977-78: 598
1978-79: 583
1979-80: 645

1980-81: 460
1981-82: 779
1982-83: 681
1983-84: 727
1984-85: 711
1985-86: 589
1986-87: 574
1987-88: 626
1988-89: 755
1989-90: 723
1990-91: 725
1991-92: 499
1992-93: 550
1993-94: 593
1994-95: 732
1995-96: 658
1996-97: 938
1997-98: 674
1998-99: 1,032.5
1999-2000: 753
2000-01: 491
2001-02: 837
2002-03: 575
2003-04: 674
2004-05: 409
2005-06: 758
2006-07: 665
2007-08: 947*
2008-09: 734
2009-10: 609*
2010-11: 907
2011-12: 698
2012-13: 741*
2013-14: 590
2014-15: 266 (low)
2015-16: 698*
2016-17: 703
2017-18: 738
2018-19: 543
2019-20: 530
2020-21: 672
2021-22: 708
2022-23: 624


* estimated; some data missing

Average annual snowfall at Paradise, based on above data (updated August 2023): 640 inches (53.3 feet/16.2 meters)

Last updated: June 23, 2023

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