North Shore areas already nearing or exceeding 50% of last winter’s snowfall totals
Winter has arrived in northern Minnesota, and compared to last year, it means business.
For many Cook County and North Shore residents, last winter was a temporary reprieve from the typical harshness of northern Minnesota winters.
The total snowfall data for 2023-24 was well under what meteorologists with the National Weather Service classify as a typical winter along the North Shore.
“Last year was well below normal,” Ketzel Levens, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth, said.
Considering that many areas in Cook County and along the North Shore spent most of the 2023-24 winter sporting brown lawns and receiving only 38 to 48 inches of snow, Mother Nature won’t have to work too hard this winter to top last year’s snowfall records.
And she’s already on her way to achieving that.
As of Dec. 9, numerous areas across the northeast region are already nearing or exceeding 50% of the total snowfall accumulation in the 2023-24 winter.
Total snowfall reports as of Dec. 9, 2024, are below:
- Gunflint Lake: 13.1 inches
- Wolf Ridge near Finland: 20.3 inches
- Grand Marais near Devils Track River up the Gunflint Trail: 25.9 inches
- Grand Marais along County Rd 7: 25.7 inches
- Duluth: 9.5 inches
Snowfall reports from the previous winter in 2023-24:
- Gunflint Lake: 43.7 inches
- Wolf Ridge near Finland: 48.8 inches
- Grand Marais near Devils Track River up the Gunflint Trail: 45.3 inches
- Grand Marais along County Rd 7: 40.8 inches
- Duluth: 38.7 inches
Based on the data provided by CoCoRaHS volunteers, a network of weather observers, the Gunflint Lake area is already at 30% of the total snowfall accumulation of the previous winter. Wolf Ridge is at 41.6%, and Duluth is at 25%.
The Grand Marais snowfall data is where the percentages jump.
The Grand Marais location near Devils Track River up the Gunflint Trail, as of Dec. 9, has already reached 57% of last winter’s snowfall accumulation. Closer to the shore, along County Rd 7, the other Grand Marais location has received 63% of the previous year’s snowfall.
Given that the Grand Marais area, in particular, has reached over 50% of last year’s snowfall in the second week of December, with ample gray winter days ahead, this winter is on pace to exceed last year’s snowfall records.
Since WTIP spoke with Levens on Dec. 9, Grand Marais and areas in Cook County have received additional snowfall. And more snow is in the immediate forecast, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service December 2024-February 2025 outlook shows below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation for the Northland.
Levens said winter snowfall totals during a typical winter for the following locations are below:
- Gunflint Lake: 65.3″
- Wolf Ridge – near Finland: 94.2″
- Grand Marais – in town: 50.9″
- Duluth (on the hill): 89.8″
Kalli Hawkins December 11, 2024
