Minne-Snow-ta: 5 to 11 feet of snow this winter
Break out the yardsticks. The snow is deep across Minnesota these days.
Much of Minnesota has tallied 5 to 11 feet of snow this winter season. And we're not done just yet. The latest cumulative seasonal snowfall map across the U.S. shows 5 to 10+ feet across the region. At least a foot of snow has fallen across the northern half of the lowers 48 states this winter.
Here are some seasonal snowfall totals across Minnesota so far.
Location Season snowfall/Average/Departure from average
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MSP Airport 62.4/43.4/+19.0
Rochester 76.9/41.3/+35.6
St. Cloud 52.7/35.6/+17.1
Duluth 82.0/67.8/+14.2
International Falls 56.8/58.1/-1.3
Eau Claire 81.8/37.5/+44.3
It's interesting to note that while most stations have recorded higher than average snowfall so far this winter season, International Falls is slightly below average. And Eau Claire has recorded more than 200% of average, twice the average snowfall so far this season.
Storm tracks matter.
Snow King: Wolf Ridge
Think you've seen a lot of snow this winter?
Wolf Ridge ELC near Finland, Minnesota on the hill above Lake Superior has picked up an incredible 137-inches so far this winter! And it's been a blessing for winter learning activities at the popular forest school.
Check out the note I got today from Peter Smerud, Executive Director at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center Near Finland, Minnesota.
Hey Paul,
Great to hear from you. It's a great story up here this winter. We absolutely love winter and lots of snow. The students attending programs here, whether with their school or family, have been having a blast... skiing, snowshoeing, tracking animals, ice fishing, and so much more. Schools come from all over the state to learn outdoors at WR, from Breckenridge to Grand Portage, or from Rochester to Warroad, and everywhere in between.
2018-19 Winter season total to date = 137.0 inches.
February monthly 31.3 inches
Snow depth at 7am today, 3/4/19 = 37.0 inches.
We've been hovering at that amount for several weeks now... gain a few inches, lose a few, but the upper thirties has been very common.
Perhaps just put this link on your favorites and check as needed. You can get all the data directly from our Campbell system weather station.
This has been a big snow year, for example the learning center started the winter with the highest snowfall amounts in the state during this year's late December storm. Tucked into the forests and hills overlooking Lake Superior, wind doesn't produce snowdrifts like many portions of the state, yet the banks along the road and trails of Wolf Ridge are commonly 6' high with some to 12'. But, this winter is not as big as some of the past years. In 1994 Wolf Ridge set snowfall records for the most in a 24 hr period and 36 hour period, 36.0" in 24 hours, and 46.5" in 36 hours... and Wolf Ridge had 4th graders on site at the time!
With all this snow it's been a great winter for many species of wildlife. The insulating layers of such a large snowpack provide a great benefit, for example - as cold as this winter has been, at 7" deep in the soil it's still 33F, and at 17" deep it's 38F. For critters such as small mammals it's a great winter to live in the subnivean layer of the snowpack.
Peter Smerud | Executive Director
Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
Deep snow
There is 18 to 40 inches of snow on the ground across Minnesota now. That's in the 95th to 100th percentile for this date.
Gradually Midler
Temperatures moderate slowly this week. The latest model data suggest at least 30s, possibly even 40-degrees close to the Twin Cities Saturday.
Weekend slop storm?
The latest models continue to suggest a messy mix of rain, snow and possibly some ice across southern Minnesota next weekend. NOAA's GFS model is typical of the solutions right now. That would bring a rainy mix as far north as the Twin Cities, followed by a dose of heavy wet snow.
In the areas that stay all snow, it could be a pile. It's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds with each new model run this week. Will the above freezing air layer air get far enough north to produce a mix of rain and snow in the Twin Cities?
Stay tuned.