DULUTH, Minn. — In the end, it seems almost anticlimactic. When 2 inches of snow falls in mid-April, it’s not usually something to celebrate.
But the 2 inches of new snow that fell overnight at the National Weather Service in Duluth was enough to propel the winter of 2022-23 to the snowiest since records have been kept starting in 1870.
Duluth’s seasonal snowfall total as of 6 a.m. Thursday sat at 137.1 inches, topping the previous record of 135.4 inches that fell in the winter of 1995-96.
And it hasn’t just been snowy in Duluth. Brainerd set a record this winter at 85.3 inches while Bayfeld, Wis., has its new record at 171.6 inches.
The Twin Cities stand at 90.3 inches for the season, making for the third snowiest winter on record. The two winter seasons with more snow were 1981-82 with 95 inches, and 1983-84 with 98.6.
But for beleaguered Duluthians, don’t put that shovel away just yet. The Weather Service is forecasting another 2-4 inches of snow and sleet through Friday in Duluth with chances of snow again Sunday.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for much of northern Minnesota and Douglas and Bayfield counties in Wisconsin until 7 a.m. Friday for several inches of additional snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain near Lake Superior. Freezing rain and thunderstorms also are possible.
A winter storm warning remains in effect for northern St. Louis, northern Itasca and Koochiching counties and into northwestern Minnesota, where another foot of new snow could fall by Friday.
Ice, wind cause power outage
Ice-covered trees combined with strong easterly winds gusting to near 50 mph caused power outages Thursday.
As of 3:20 p.m., Minnesota Power was reporting 99 outages affecting 5,357 customers in various neighborhoods across Duluth; Hermantown, Rice Lake, Carlton, Cloquet, Esko and Scanlon; and Canosia, Grand Lake, Gnesen, Lakewood, Midway, Normanna, Solway and Twin Lakes townships.
Long winter, big snow for Duluth
To say it’s been a long winter is an understatement at best. Duluth received its first measurable snow, 2 inches, on Oct. 14, so this has been going on for more than six months.
Duluth has had at least a trace of snow on the ground every day since Nov. 11. Duluth had as much as 37 inches of snow on the ground March 12-13, and carried 32 inches into April — one of only four times in history that there’s been that much snow on the ground in April.
Duluth has even topped Buffalo, N.Y., which has 133.6 inches of snow so far this season. But before you get too excited, Duluth’s snow totals pale to places like Mammoth Mountain, Calif., which has seen 836 inches so far this winter, and Brighton Mountain, Utah, with 718 inches. The all-time U.S. seasonal snowfall record was set at Mount Baker Ski Area (4,200 feet elevation) in Washington at 1,140 inches in 1998-99. That’s 95 feet of snow.
Spring flooding in southern Minnesota
Meanwhile, the precipitation falling Wednesday and Thursday in southern Minnesota has mainly been in the form of unwelcome rain.
With a rapid melt to all the winter snowfall, rivers are continuing to build toward their crests in the coming weeks.
In the Twin Cities, where about an inch of rain had fallen through Thursday afternoon, the Mississippi River in St. Paul was at 16.24 feet. It’s expected to surpass 17 feet — major flood stage — on Friday and crest next Thursday at 19 feet, about a foot higher than forecasts issued ahead of the wet weather. A crest at that level would be just below the top 10 St. Paul floods on record.
The St. Croix River in Stillwater has been holding steady just below major flood stage of 689 feet above sea level. It’s now expected to crest at 690 feet next Wednesday.
Still, authorities say flood preparations, including the closing of low-lying roads and parkland, are in place and little damage to public or private property is expected.
