The Best Snow Blowers for All Winter Weather

Our top picks represent the best of the best from the latest round of testing, but these other models have a lot going for them:

•Snow Joe 48-Volt, 18-Inch Ionmax Cordless Electric Snow Blower: If you're on a tight budget, and snowfall in your region is moderate, consider this model, another favorite from the brand behind our Best Value pick. It features a 1200-watt brushless motor that’s powered by two 24-volt 5Ah rechargeable lithium ion batteries, which is enough to keep it going for about 40 minutes.

•Troy-Bilt Squall 21-inch Snow Blower: Another solid value-driven gas snow blower that cleanly removed nearly all the wet saw dust from the pavement in testing, thanks to the paddle’s direct contact with the pavement. The compact Squall is also easy to maneuver and store.

•Craftsman SB650 Three-Stage Snow Blower: At the other end of the price spectrum, this model could be worth the splurge if you need a workhorse to clear heavy snowfall and can't get your hands on the three-stage Cub Cadet. During testing, the Craftsman cleared our 8-by-6-foot area in a swift 3 minutes 9 seconds and it was adept at cutting through icy snow.

•Troy-Bilt Storm 3090: Another model we like that might be worth paying more for if you have a lot of paved surface area to clear. Its intake housing and auger are capable of clearing a 30-inch path in one pass, saving time and effort over the long haul, especially compared with snow blowers with clearances of 20 inches or less.

Our product analysts at the Good Housekeeping Institute keep constant tabs on marketplace to identify the snow blowers you’re most likely to find at home centers and online. We also attend trade shows like Equip Expo to stay on top of the latest innovations. From there, we focus on brands that have performed the best and proven the most reliable through years of outdoor power equipment tests.

Hands-on testing starts with a thorough review of technical and performance data points, covering factors such as power source, clearing width and throwing distance.

To measure all-important blowing performance, we teamed up with our partners at Popular Mechanics who test snow blowers by using them to move piles of wet sawdust, which is even tougher than the heaviest snow. In one test, they set up an area measuring 8' x 6' x 5.5", which converts to 462 pounds of “snow” and recorded the time it took to clear the test area with each machine. For another test, they created a dense, wet sawdust snowbank and used each snowblower to break through it.

Our experts also ran home testing throughout the winter to see how snow blowers performed in real-world conditions, and we enlisted professional landscapers to provide outside expertise. These evaluations focused on usability, including factors like ease of start-up, handle comfort and maneuverability.

If your region only gets the occasional winter storm, you might be better off hiring a local plowing service to clear your drive or digging out with a shovel. But if you see more snowfall than that, choose a snow blower that matches the volume of snow and how much effort you want to expend on its removal.

Here are the key factors to consider:

✔️ Power source: It can either be gas, electric or battery.

• Gas snow blowers, which run on regular unleaded gasoline from the gas station, are still the most common, and powerful.
• Electric snow blowers come with a cord that you plug into an extension cord. Keep in mind that 100 feet is the maximum length the cord can be to still send enough power to the snow blower.
• Battery-powered snow blowers run on rechargeable batteries with average runtimes between 30 and 60 minutes.

✔️ Stage: This is another way that snow blowers are categorized, which can make the decision process a little more complicated. Here’s the basic breakdown:

• Single-stage snow blowers: Whether gas, electric or battery-powered, these blowers have a single auger, a paddle-like device that picks up snow from the ground and ejects it through the chute. There are limits to how much snow can be pulled through the machine and how far it can be thrown. Plus, they're typically not self-propelled, so you do the heavy pushing.
• Two-stage snow blowers: Also known as dual-stage, these blowers start with a similar augur design but add in an impeller, a fan-like mechanism that helps discharge snow out the chute. The added push allows two-stage machines to move more snow at a faster pace and throw it farther. They're usually self-propelled for easier clearing.
• Three-stage snow blowers: As you might guess, these snow blowers have a third element called an accelerator which helps move snow from the auger to the impeller. Three-stage snow blowers are the fastest machines with the farthest throwing power. The commercial-grade machines are always self-propelled and they only run on gas.

When choosing a snow blower, think about how much snowfall your home gets in a single dumping and how far you need to throw it (basically how wide is your driveway). If you get pummeled by multiple blizzards a year and you have a two-car driveway or larger, you’ll want the maximum power and self-propelled operation of a gas-powered snow blower with two or three stages.

These rugged machines can even blast through the icy pile that municipal snow-plowing trucks leave at the foot of driveways. If a typical season consists of a couple of snowfalls of 6 to 12 inches, a two-stage blower — whether gas, electric or battery-powered — should be up to the job. For anything less than that, go for a single-stage snow blower of any power source.

✔️ Features that count: You can zero in on the right machine by weighing these factors:

• Noise: The big trade-off of powerful gas snow blowers is that they’re noisy. They're hard on your ears (so we strongly recommend wearing ear protection when operating these machines) and your neighbors won’t love it either, especially early in the morning. If you don’t have to deal with a ton of wet, heavy snow, consider a quiet electric or battery-powered snow blower.
• Wheels vs. tracks: Most snow blowers have wheels, which make for easy maneuvering. Tracks, on the other hand, provide greater grip and stability, giving them the advantage on slopes or over loose surfaces, but they’re harder to turn.
• Electric start: In the dead of winter, this is much easier than yanking a pull cord. With gas models, the electric start has a power cord that needs to be plugged into an exterior outlet.
• Headlight: This feature is found on most two and three-stage snow blowers. It's a must if you'll be working in low-light conditions.
• Heated hand grips: Freezing fingers make snow blowing hard, if not impossible.
• Joystick chute control: This handheld operation makes it easy to change the vertical and horizontal direction of the discharge chute, nice if the neighbors (and their cars) are close by.

Are snow blowers safe?

Snow blowers are safe, provided you use them properly. First things first, never put your hands inside the chute. If you need to clear a clog, turn the snow blower off and use the manufacturer-provided clean-out tool to remove the blockage.

It’s also important to make sure no one is standing in front of the snow blower when it’s in use due to flying rocks and other projectiles. Always keep kids and pets indoors when using the equipment. Finally, when operating an electric snow blower, only use a surge protector that’s rated for outdoor use and be careful not to run over the cord.

How do I maintain my snow blower?

Periodically check the shear pins, which protect the engine by breaking if the auger jams. Inspect the belts for wear and tear, maintain proper tire pressure, and before any storm comes, clear the area you'll be blowing of sticks, toys, tools and the like so you don't run over them and damage the machine.

✔️ For gas snow blowers: Check the oil level before each use. If the machine will be sitting idle for a while, either run the tank dry or add fuel stabilizer so that the gasoline doesn’t break down, clogging the fuel lines and carburetor.

✔️ For battery-powered blowers: Store and charge the snow blower batteries inside your home since cold temperatures can cause them to degrade.

Dan DiClerico, director of GH's Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab, has tested and written about outdoor power equipment, including snow blowers, for nearly 25 years. Prior to joining Good Housekeeping, his expertise appeared in Consumer Reports and This Old House. He has personally tested snow blowers from more than a dozen leading brands and he is a regular at trade shows where he stays up to date with the latest innovations.

Bradley Ford is the test editor at Popular Mechanics and has spent most of his life using tools to fix, build or make things. Growing up, he worked on a farm, where he learned to weld, repair and paint equipment. Today, when he's not testing tools or writing for Popular Mechanics, he's busy keeping up with the projects at his old farmhouse in eastern Pennsylvania.