6 Inches in 1 Hour

Heavy lake-effect snow in the Tug Hill plateau near the town of Lorraine. Image credit: iWitness Weather/tughill

When meteorologists are analyzing winter storms, snowfall rates are one of the most talked about details.

Generally, an inch or 2 of snow per hour is regarded as significant. When you start talking about 3-, 4- or 5-inch per hour rates, it becomes a fascinating topic. Occasionally, we can even see snowfall rates of 6 inches an hour or higher.

One such example is in February 2013. In hard hit central Connecticut, one locationduring the height of the storm.

Snowfall rates of this magnitude have been observed at other times in the past, including during intense lake-effect snowstorms downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It's these lake-effect snow bands that produce some of the most extreme snow totals in short periods of time.

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Let's take a look at a huge 12-hour snow total from east of Lake Ontario next.

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40 Inches in 12 Hours

Heavy lake-effect snow in the Tug Hill plateau near the town of Lorraine. Image credit: iWitness Weather/tughill

In the Tug Hill plateau east of Lake Ontario, Montague, N.Y. was buried by

Of this incredible storm total, 40 inches of snow was recorded in just 12 hours from 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 to 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 12.

A 24-hour total of 77 inches from Jan. 11 to Jan. 12 to determine if a new record was set for the most snow ever measured in a single 24-hour period. However, it was determined that the observer in Montague did not follow the climatological measuring guidelines needed for this 24-hour total to be considered for the record. That said, the six individual measurements taken by the observer were considered valid, including the 40 inches in 12 hours.

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51 Inches in 16 Hours

Valdez, Alaska

Credit: iWitness Weather contributor kevtiffbiggs

We stay in the snow belt east of Lake Ontario for this next amazing total.

Bennetts Bridge, N.Y. Put another way, that's an average of a little more than 3 inches of snow an hour for 16 consecutive hours.

now the National Weather Service, says that the snow in western New York was accompanied by strong winds, resulting in blizzard conditions. Highways were severely impacted and many motorists were stranded.

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67.8 Inches in 19 Hours

Bode Miller of the United States at the FIS Ski World Cup on Dec. 15, 2013 in Val d'Isere, French Alps. Image credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

(Getty Images)

A late-season snowstorm in the French Alps region of Savoie was responsible for our next snowfall extreme.

Chris Burt of Weather Underground says that the ski resort town of Bessans

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120.6 Inches in 48 Hours

Valdez, Alaska

Credit: iWitness Weather contributor kevtiffbiggs

Above: Snow in Valdez, Alaska

In the final six days of 1955, Thompson Pass, Alaska was buried by 175 inches of snow.

, an amazing 120.6 inches of this total fell in a two-day period from Dec. 29-30. That's 10 feet of snow in 48 hours!

Thompson Pass is located to the east of Valdez, Alaska, which holds the title as the

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A snowflake magnified under a microscope. (Credit: Michael Peres)