Where’s the snow? Digging into this winter’s so-so snowfall
Little moisture and low-energy weather keeping Minnesota dry
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The skis and snowboards are waxed, the snowmobiles are fueled up and anxious kids are waiting with their sleds in hand. But where’s the snow?
In Minnesota we typically see around 50 to 70 inches of snow throughout the season, with the heaviest snowfall occurring between December and February. Monthly averages vary with December at 11.4 inches, January at 11 inches and February usually seeing 9.5 inches.
As of now, we're far below those averages with this winter only recording 9.8 inches, putting us significantly behind where we'd expect to be at this point.
What's happening? The short answer is we're going through another season where there's been too little energy and moisture in the atmosphere to make a proper snowstorm.
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A surprisingly dry season
Looking back at the snowiest and driest years, our current winter ranks 13th out of the top 20 for minimal snowfall, with only 9.8 inches so far. In comparison, last year’s paltry 7.3 inches landed 2024 in seventh place.
Winter 2023 brought a generous 55.5 inches of snow, earning fifth place out of 20 for maximum snowfall and leaving snow enthusiasts celebrating.
Our seasonal average for snowfall is 51.2 inches. As of the end of January, we are over 20 inches below our seasonal snowfall average.
Colder than last year, but …
The winter of 2024 was warm, with mid-January starting a record 24 days of consecutive temperatures above freezing. January ended up almost 6 degrees above the average monthly high of 23.6 degrees. February was almost 13 degrees above the monthly average of 28.5 degrees.
January 2025 has been far from as warm as 2024, but it’s still been lacking in snowfall. While temperatures have been plenty cold, we've been cut off from the needed moisture and energy.
As we approach the final month of meteorological winter, let’s hope we can make up for this lackluster season and bring some fresh powder back to the state.