Blog Post

World's Largest Snow Thermometer: world record in Mohawk, Michigan

Sep 05, 2022

Mohawk, Michigan, United States--A super sized snow stick (aka The Keweenaw Snow Thermometer) is located 3 miles (4.8km) north of Mohawk in Michigan’s Keweenaw County; the snow stick is over 30 feet tall on the side of highway 41 and resembles a large thermometer; it sets the world record for being the World's Largest Snow Thermometer, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

Photo above: World's Largest Snow Thermometer: world record in Mohawk, Michigan. Author: Nick Nolte

"The record high snowfall for the area was in the winter of 1978-79 reaching an incredible 32.5 feet (9.9m). This height is measured to the top of the snow stick and it really allows you to visualize the sheer massive amounts of snow that this was," The Lake Superior Circle Tour reports.

"A small roadside park north of Mohawk helps show just how much snow can fall during the Upper Peninsula winter here, as a giant snow gauge has been put up to show record snowfall as well as the previous year’s total. If you’re visiting during the heat of June, July or August, just the thought of 390 inches of snow should be enough to help cool you off for a few minutes," the travelthemitten.com reports.

"The snow gauge stands roughly 30 feet tall, with the highlight being a 390.4 inch total for the 1978-79 season. It also shows a record low of only 161.1 inches during the 1999-00 season and the 30-year average of 240.8 inches."

Photo above: "A wooden sign on site reads: “During the winter of 1978-79 Keweenaw County established a new snowfall record by tabulating a seasonal total of 390.4 inches of snow. This could be a new record set in the USA for the entire area east of the Rockies. The monthly tabulations for the winter of 1978-79 are as follows: Nov. 49.2 inches, Dec. 116.4 inches, Jan. 111.4 inches, Feb. 53.0 inches, Mar. 52.6 inches, Apr. 7.8 inches.” Photo: travelthemitten.com

"We had the pleasure of seeing the huge Snow Stick on one of the warmest weekends of the year - July 4! In addition to the cool park behind the "Stick," the thoughts of the 390 inches of snow helped to cool us off. In Snow Thermometer Park, US 41 four miles north of Mohawk, which is a small town north of the village of Calumet.

"North of Calumet, the Snow Gauge, aka the Snow Stick, measures the snow fall each year, over 30 feet! Once you visit that, keep going on the highway up to Copper Harbor and check out Brockway Mountain Drive -- it's beautiful! Last time we took that drive we saw a black bear and several deer, so drive slowly,"the Roadside America reports.

"As we were headed to Copper Harbor from the Keweenaw Historic Site, wo came upon a giant gauge that shows historic snowfall amounts. I pulled in and checked it out. It had the past winter's amount along with other historic heights. This area is known for huge amounts of snow, so it was cool to see how that amount looks and compare it to the trees around you."

(Trip Advisor)

"Way up near the tippy top of Michigan's Upper Peninsula is the Snow Thermometer Park," the WKFR.com reports.

"Off of US-41 about three miles north of Mohawk there is a HUGE snow thermometer that also doubles as a measuring stick for yearly snowfall totals. The record-high seasonal total is 390.4 Inches. The least amount of snowfall came in the winter of 1930–31, at only 81.30 inches.

That most snow record equates to roughly 32 1/2 feet, and that all came down in one year. That kind of makes me appreciate the few feet we get down here in Southwest Michigan."

"Mohawk is an unincorporated community in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Allouez Township. As an unincorporated community, Mohawk has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own but does have its own post office with the 49950 ZIP Code. The ZIP Code includes most of mainland Keweenaw County and also uses the Eagle Harbor and Eagle River designations.

Mohawk is centered along U.S. Highway 41 just north of the village of Ahmeek in the Keweenaw Peninsula. It is the site of the Mohawk Mining Company, which conducted copper mining in the early 1900s. Mohawkite is a rare mineral that is believed to be found only in the Mohawk Mine. (wikipedia)