Northland Snow Drought? How This Winter Compares To Normal

While it is a little early to say with complete confidence we're done with snow for the season in Northern Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin, the forecast is slowly making it look more and more likely we've finally turned the corner.

As things stand right now, the winter of 2024-2025 was certainly a snowier winter than last year's, but it was still significantly below average in most places the National Weather Service has data for in Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota.

Despite that trend across the region, there was actually one city that has seen more snow than normal so far this year.

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Here's a look at various places across the region and how this winter stacks up against a "normal" winter, as well as how it compares to last winter.

Comparing the winter of 2024-2025 to normal across the Northland

International Falls, MN

International Falls isn't extremely far behind normal for this winter so far. It is between an average winter and last winter in terms of snowfall.

Winter of 2024-2025 (through April 15): 60.1 inches

Normal (through April 15): 69.6 inches

Difference from normal: -9.5 inches

Winter of 2023-2024: 51.6 inches

Grand Rapids, MN

Grand Rapids is pretty considerably behind normal snowfall by this time of year, though it is still ahead of last winter's total snowfall by nearly a foot.

Winter of 2024-2025 (through April 15): 38.9 inches

Normal (through April 15): 57.3 inches

Difference from normal: -18.4 inches

Winter of 2023-2024: 27.8 inches

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Cloquet, MN

Cloquet is nearly three feet shy of how much snow the city should have received by this time of year. While it is more snow than last year (the least snowy year on record), it is closer to this mark than to a normal amount of snow.

Winter of 2024-2025 (through April 15): 36.6 inches

Normal (through April 15): 68.6 inches

Difference from normal: -32 inches

Winter of 2023-2024: 23.1 inches (least snowy winter on record)

Hayward, WI

The National Weather Service doesn't have normal snowfall data available for Hayward using the tool I am using. Despite that, this year's snowfall is only 10.2 inches more than last year, which was the least-snowy winter on record for Hayward.

Winter of 2024-2025 (through April 16): 37 inches

Winter of 2023-2024: 27.2 inches (least snowy winter on record)

Hurley, WI

Hurley is traditionally one of the places that gets the most snow around the region, thanks to the local geography, including lake effect snow from Lake Superior. While the city has seen the most snow around the region to date, it is still well below normal for this time of year.

Winter of 2024-2025 (through April 16): 98.7 inches

Normal (through April 16): 150.2 inches

Difference from normal: -51.5 inches

Winter of 2023-2024: 58 inches (least snowy winter on record)

Grand Marais, MN

The NWS measuring location for Grand Marais is the only place on this list that has actually seen more snow than normal this year, by more than a foot.

Winter of 2024-2025 (through April 16): 65.2 inches

Normal (through April 16): 49.8 inches

Difference from normal: +15.4 inches

Duluth, MN Area

The Duluth area is about 2.5 feet shy of what it normally would have gotten by now. While significantly less than normal, it is still over a foot more than last year's total snowfall.

Winter of 2024-2025 (through April 16): 54 inches

Normal (through April 16): 85.9 inches

Difference from normal: -31.9 inches

Winter of 2023-2024: 38.7 inches

Here's a look at how the last few years compare to the least snowy winters on record in Duluth.