National Park completely snowed in after 2nd biggest monthly snowfall in nearly 70 years

Buildings in Crater Lake National Park are almost completely buried in snow following one of the snowiest February's in the park’s history.

The park is located in southern Oregon and is home to the deepest lake in the United States. At an elevation of over 7,000 feet, the areas at the rim of the lake average over 500 inches of snow every winter.

“Since the park's monitoring started in 1931, it's the seventh highest February total (154 inches). Other than 1999, all of the other top 10 years occurred prior to 1960,” Crater Lake National Park said on Facebook.

The 154 inches that fell last month is close to double the average February snowfall, but nowhere close to the February record of 248 inches set in 1949.

Snow will continue to pile up in the park in the coming weeks before the storm track shifts north, spelling the end of the winter snowstorms.

Snow removal typically doesn’t start until mid-April and takes months for all of the roads in the park to open following winter storms.

“The park uses a combination of heavy bulldozers and rotary plows to remove snow, ice, and rockfalls that have accumulated since the road closed last autumn,“ Crater Lake National Park said.

Some roads may remain closed until July as crews work to clear all of the snow and debris following months of storms.

Although many areas near the lake’s rim are only accessible by snowshoe during the winter and spring, the Steel Visitor Center, located at a lower elevation, is open year-round with the exception of Christmas Day.

People planning to visit Crater Lake should check the most recent conditions reports on the park’s website.

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