Seattle averages just 6.3 inches of snow a winter, although several winters—especially during the 1950s and 60s—have seen much more. Seattle’s official snowfall records were taken at Sea-Tac Airport from 1945 through the winter of 1995-96, and again from the winter of 2004-05 onward. Unfortunately, from 1996 to 2004, snowfall was not measured at the airport. The one-day record for snowfall at Sea-Tac is 20 inches on Jan. 13, 1950—although the city’s overall snowiest 24-hour period occurred from Feb. 1-2, 1916, when 21.5 inches was measured at the Federal Building in downtown Seattle.
Note: Data in all charts from records taken at Sea-Tac Airport.
