The Midwest was hit hard Tuesday night and Wednesday by a momentous blizzard, particularly in the Chicago area, where 900 cars were abandoned on Lake Shore Drive as snow piled up to their windshields. Chicago’s O'Hare Airport reported 20.2 inches of snow had fallen by 10:30 a.m. ET - the third highest snowfall in the city's history - and cancelled all flights on Wednesday, with cancellations likely to continue into Thursday. In Ohio, more than 200,000 homes and businesses lost power, while freezing temperatures in Texas caused blackouts in nearly three million homes. More than 5,300 flights across the nation had been canceled Wednesday as of 10 a.m. ET. From Texas to Maine, the storm crossed over 30 states and called for a nationwide support from 2,430 National Guard troops.
From Denver to Duluth, Buffalo to Billings, The Daily Beast ranks the cities that take the worst winter poundings each year.
Gallery: View America's 20 Snowiest Cities
Which cities, year after year, are actually America's snowiest? To find out, The Daily Beast examined the 1980-2009 monthly snowfall data for cities of more than 50,000 people from the National Climatic Data Center to arrive at a yearly average. While some cities were missing snowfall records for some years (supplementary weather information was culled from the Farmer’s Almanac database), the breadth of the data provides a clear snapshot of where residents endure the most snow year in, year out.
There were plenty of surprises, including an Arizona city in the top five. But New York state reigns as the clear-cut king of snow, holding the top three spots. For all those images this weekend of skiers on Fifth Avenue however, New York City doesn't come close. So who's No. 1? Click here.