Duluth Smashes Old Snowfall Record and Snow Isn't Over Just Yet.

We won't forget this winter anytime soon, right? Wait, it's spring? [checks notes] You're right. Who knew? I'm convinced the great snow machine in the sky is broken, stuck in the on-position. Talk about a character-building stretch of weather. If it's any consolation (it's not) we are setting winter snowfall records left and right, new records that probably won't be broken again anytime soon!

Duluth National Weather Service

As of 1am this morning the Twin Ports official winter snowfall at the Duluth National Weather Service had risen to 138.3", smashing the old record of 135.4" back in 1995-96. That number will go up today, possibly reaching 140" by Saturday morning, by the time snow finally tapers off.

Credit: NOAA

Roughly 3" of snow fell on the Twin Ports overnight, with closer to 5" at Hibbing and Brainerd. Check out the latest snow accumulations here, courtesy of our friends at NOAA. Much of the precipitation yesterday fell as sleet and freezing rain, keeping snowfall totals down. Had it been a few degrees colder yesterday we would be digging out from well over a foot of new snow right now. Good grief.

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ECMWF additional snowfall by Saturday AM, courtesy of WeatherBell.com

But wait, there's more (snow). Not a lot, maybe another inch or two by daybreak Saturday, with 3-4" up on the Iron Range, as the storm finally relaxes its wintry stranglehold on the Northland. The European model (above) has been fairly consistent and accurate with snowfall totals.

Is this winter's last gasp? Probably, but I may have said something similar 2 weeks ago. We shall see.

ECMWF Ensemble Temperatures courtesy of WeatherBell.com

Chilly weather lingers into early next week but your backyard thermometer will not be able to resist the tug of a higher sun angle. It HAS to warm up in the coming weeks, and it will. Temperatures rise well into the 50s to near 60F by the time we limp into May.

Mud Season will reluctantly give way to chirping robins, blooming daffodils and the first mosquito sightings of 2023. Something to look forward to.

Winters in the Northland are always tough, but this year has been more character-building than usual. 138.3" and counting! Well over 13 FEET of snow. Yep, we got our Winter Mojo back....

The 15 Snowiest Winters On Record In Duluth History

Since the National Weather Service began keeping weather records in Duluth in the late 1800s, here are the 15 winters with the highest snowfall totals on historical record.

It is worth noting that the official records from 1941-today have been recorded at the area now known as the Duluth International Airport (away from the lake, on top of the hill). Before then, various locations closer to Lake Superior had been used for official weather recording data. For anyone that knows anything about how Lake Superior and the hill play a role in temperature and snow, you can see how this makes older records inherently different.

While these records note the "snowiest winters", they actually include all seasonal snowfall from July 1 through June 30 of the following year.