Snowiest Canadian Cities

Ten of Canada's 26 major cities receive an average of over two metres (6.6 feet) of snow every year. All of the snowiest cities lie east of Manitoba, with the most snow falling at Saguenay, Quebec. Not surprisingly, these same 10 urban centres also top the Canadian list for the number of days a year it snows.

The tables below list the cities that get the most snow each year, and have the longest periods with snow on the ground. There are also rankings for the biggest snowfall in one day, and the deepest snowpack to ever accumulate.

Major cities included in the weather rankings are the Canadian metropolitan areas with over 150,000 people in 2006, according to Statistics Canada.

Annual averages for major Canadian cities receiving over 2 m of snowfall a year.

City	cm Snowfall	Days of Snowfall
Saguenay	342	96
St. John's	322	84
Quebec City	316	76
Sherbrooke	294	79
Sudbury	274	78
Barrie	238	46
Ottawa – Gatineau	236	66
Halifax	231	60
Montreal	218	60
London	202	66

Record-Setting Snowfalls

Only five Canadian cities have ever had more than a half metre (1.6 feet) of snow fall in a single day. Amazingly, one of the largest dumps of snow on record hit Victoria BC, a city known for it's balmy winters.

Largest snowfalls in one day.

City	cm	Date
St. John's	68.4	April 5, 1999
Halifax	66.0	February 19, 2004
Barrie	65.0	January 9, 1978
Victoria	64.5	December 29, 1996
London	57.0	December 7, 1977

Although settling and melting reduce what accumulates on the ground, the white stuff does add up. The snowpack has amounted to over a metre (3.3 feet) on at least one occasion in eight of Canada's large cities.

Record snowpack depth.

City	cm	Date
St. John's	180	February 9, 2001
Quebec	165	February 23, 1976
Saguenay	153	February 13, 1955
Sudbury	145	March 16, 1959
Ottawa – Gatineau	135	March 14, 1993
Sherbrooke	135	March 12, 1971
Trois-Rivieres	110	March 23, 2001
Montreal	102	March 12, 1971

Longest Winters

If winter is defined by the number of days that there's snow on the ground, then winter lasts over four months in eight of the major Canadian cities, scattered across the country. While Calgary, Alberta does not make this list, it is Canada's only major city to have a snowstorm during every month of the year.

Average number of days a year when snow is over 1 centimetre (0.4 inches) deep.

City	Days
Saguenay	160
Quebec	149
Sudbury	141
Sherbrooke	135
Winnipeg	132
Edmonton	131
Regina	126
Ottawa – Gatineau	122