Take A Look At Life Inside Hurley, The Snowiest Town In Wisconsin
It’s no surprise that here in Wisconsin, we get a lot of snow. North to south, east to west, there isn’t a bit of our state that doesn’t get hit with the fluffy white stuff when winter arrives. But one spot seems to accumulate even more than the average snowfall in Wisconsin. The small town of Hurley is the town that gets the most snow in Wisconsin, and you can bet that the 1,500 or so brave souls that live in Hurley know a thing or two about snow.
Weather.com declared Hurley as Wisconsin's snowiest city by compiling an average snowfall number using NOAA data from July 1, 1985, through June 30, 2015. Based on that info, Hurley gets a whopping 162.2" of snow each and every winter.
From 1988 to 2018, Hurley received a total of 488 feet of snow. To put that in perspective, that’s almost twice as tall as the State Capitol which is 284 feet tall.
Hurley is on the Montreal River, which forms the border between Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's about 18 miles from Lake Superior in what is known as the South Shore snow belt. Lake effect snow is real and constant in Hurley.
It's not just snow - Hurley, Wisconsin is also darn cold. In an average year, the temperature drops below 32 °F (0 °C) on 192 days, and below 0 °F (-17.8 °C) on 40 days.
The more than 1,000 miles of snowmobiling trails in and around Iron County are not only fun and recreational but a necessity here. If you want to go snowmobiling in Wisconsin, Hurley is the place to come!
In 2014, Marathon County reported that Hurley, Wisconsin was home to the greatest monthly total snowfall in state history, 103.5 inches in January 1997 as well as the greatest seasonal total, 301.8 inches in the winter of 1996-97, and the deepest snow on the ground (excluding drifts), 60.0 inches on Jan. 30, 1996.
Though they're a small distance away from Lake Superior, the lake is to blame for much of the snow in this area. Because of its size, Lake Superior rarely freezes all the way over, even in this cold, cold climate.
In relative terms, the lake retains warmth and is warmer than the cold air surrounding it. Cold winds come from Canada or the northwest and as they move across the surface of the lake, which is warmer, relatively speaking, evaporation happens. The moisture from that process form clouds. The wind doesn't stop coming, so the clouds are pushed a bit ashore over - you guessed it - Hurley. The hills in the area induce the moisture to let loose and it comes in the form of lots and lots of snow in Hurley and surrounding areas.
Living in Hurley means always dressing in layers, having a backup generator and lots of batteries and battery-operated lights and radios, first aid supplies, and having enough food and water until you can go out after a storm.
You never know when you could be snowed in or what you could need in the meantime. You know how to spot frostbite and hypothermia and how to treat them. In the winter, you don't leave the house with exposed skin.
Snows have been coming earlier and earlier - Halloween is usually the accepted start of the season. Some years it's just a dusting and in others, there will be more than five or six feet of snow on the ground before November is out.
If you're not afraid of a bit of snow and love getting outside to enjoy all that winter in Wisconsin has to offer, Hurley is the place for you. Nowhere else provides the kind of winter wonderland of playing in the snow the way they do. When it's below freezing around 185 days of the year, you'd better learn to embrace it.
Have you been to Hurley or do you live in a snowy Wisconsin town, as well? What’s life like trying to survive what feels like an endless winter? Share your positive and negative parts about living through a winter in Wisconsin in the comments below! We want to hear about it.
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Address: Hurley, WI 54534, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
town that gets the most snow in Wisconsin
January 10, 2020
Jackie Ann
What is there to do in the snow in Wisconsin?
Just because it’s snowing outside doesn’t mean you need to stay cooped up indoors. Bundle up and embrace the fresh powder by taking part in one of the many different winter activities peppered throughout Wisconsin. Some of the most popular winter activities in Wisconsin you shouldn’t miss out on include tubing down Cascade Mountain in Portage, snowshoeing the trails at Nine Mile Forest in Wausau, ice fishing the largest inland lake in Wisconsin, Lake Winnebago, or hopping aboard one of the various snow trains in the state that will take you through the countryside.
How much snow does Wisconsin get each winter?
Our state is no stranger to snowfall and there are many snowy days in Wisconsin. While different parts of the state receive drastically different snowfall amounts, it’s safe to say that the entire state transforms into a winter wonderland during the colder months. In fact, the average seasonal snowfall for Wisconsin ranges from 40 to 50 inches across most of central and northeastern Wisconsin. For the northernmost parts of the state, snowfall can clock in at a whopping 100 inches per year.
What is the most snow ever recorded in Wisconsin?
The snowiest single day in Wisconsin happened on December 3, 1990, when the city of Madison received 17.3 inches of record-breaking snowfall. Another record for the city of Madison of the most snowfall in a one-month period was 37 inches in February 1994. The winter of 2018-2019 brought a record snowfall of 115.6 inches to Rhinelander in northern Wisconsin. The record for seasonal snowfall in Wisconsin belongs to the small town of Hurley which received a whopping 277.7 inches of snow during the winter of 1996-1997. That's why it is known as the town that gets the most snow in Wisconsin.
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