Winter 2011-12 Minnesota

[kealia]

Well, what can I say. Today is December 7, and we don't have any snow. November temperatures were 5+ degrees above normal and precipitation was well below normal. My snowblower is still sitting in the garage.

Of course this could change at any moment. Both the lakes and the ground are frozen, so any snow that falls will stay. The forecast doesn't look promising through next week.

After such a good snow year last year, this year is quickly shaping up as a disappointment.

Hope for snow!

Mark in northern Minnesota

[Igloo Ed]

Well, what can I say. Today is December 7, and we don't have any snow. November temperatures were 5+ degrees above normal and precipitation was well below normal. My snowblower is still sitting in the garage.

Of course this could change at any moment. Both the lakes and the ground are frozen, so any snow that falls will stay. The forecast doesn't look promising through next week.

After such a good snow year last year, this year is quickly shaping up as a disappointment.

Hope for snow!

Mark in northern Minnesota

I visited my son in St. Cloud over Thanksgiving and we went camping the Sat. before. It was snowing as we headed in Sat. morn and the snow was 5 inches deep by the time the storm finished dumping. We had a great fire with red oak, the Park had cut, from some blowdown. We slept in a tent but it sure felt like winter with the clouds moving through and it being bitter cold.
I watched that snow melt during the holiday week I spent in MN. It still kinda felt like winter to me as it never really warmed up like it was five years or so ago. It felt like when I was a kid in ND and the snow came shortly before Christmas. I only remember one Christmas without snow back then.
It had snowed enough here in CO that I had to use snowshoes the last weekend before I went to MN and it was a bit warm while I was gone. The snow melted bare in the windblown and sunny spots but the deeper snow seemed to consolidate to make a great base. By the time I got up last weekend there had been one storm and we went up in a storm that had already dumped 10 inches at the trailhead. It snowed hard most of the day and we were sinking in past our knees on the way out. It felt like winter with the cold snow falling and giving us such a good dump out of a small storm, it'll last now until the next storm comes though.
It just feels like we'll have a good snow season again this year. The Midwest seems to be getting hit randomly with small storms but it'll kick in before Christmas.

[kealia]

Well... December 16 and the snow depth across northern Minnesota is less than 2 inches. Southern Minnesota has even less. The forecast for Sunday, December 18, is 42 degrees, so the little bit of snow now on the ground will melt. My snowblower and igloo-maker are sitting quietly in the garage. I reailze that one good storm could quickly change everthing, but we have already lost six weeks of winter. Very disappointing.

[Igloo Ed]

Well... December 16 and the snow depth across northern Minnesota is less than 2 inches. Southern Minnesota has even less. The forecast for Sunday, December 18, is 42 degrees, so the little bit of snow now on the ground will melt. My snowblower and igloo-maker are sitting quietly in the garage. I realize that one good storm could quickly change everything, but we have already lost six weeks of winter. Very disappointing.

I almost feel guilty with our snow but naw... I count my blessings. We have just about enough snow to ski the woods in the mountains. One more storm will bury the rocks.
There is enough snow however that I am doing an igloo demo near Vail Pass tomorrow and will stay the night. Mmmm.... VAIL!
Checking our mountain forecast and it says 20% chance of snow Monday night. It might be enough to make it look pretty again but no serious storms in the seven day forecast.

[kealia]

....and the disappointment continues. Today is January 7, 2012, and Minnesota still does not have enough snow for a snowball, much less an igloo! On Thursday the temperature in my backyard hit 50! Never in my 50 years in Minnesota have I seen a 50 degree temperature during the first week of January. The snowdepth was less than two inches on Wednesday, but that is gone now. My Igloo maker is still patiently sitting on the shelf in my garage waiting for winter. I am having my doubts.

[PineMartyn]

I share your pain Kealia. I live in the near north of Ontario, and while we've had some nice cold temperatures and a modest amount of snow fallen, there has been one, two, and in some weeks as many as three, above-freezing days with rains every week this winter. As a result of all these thaws and rains there's been no snow accumulation and only a few lakes have frozen over in my part of the province.

If we don't get a lot of snow soon, we're going to be in for some alarmingly low water levels in our lakes, streams and rivers in the spring and summer. Wells are going to suffer too.

I've heard of rain dances. Anyone know if there's such a thing as a snow dance? This is really spoiling the winter fun I've been looking forward to since last March. Sigh.

-Martin

[Igloo Ed]

Well, got around to checking some web cams and Ely don't look to bad: http://www.webcambiglook.com/minnesota/ ... ely-mn.htm
I hope that igloo tool has made it off the garage shelf.

[kealia]

Another month has passed and the snow refuses to accumulate. I am suffering through one of driest and warmest winters in Minnesota history. Less than 8 inches of snow has accumlated in my yard and what little has fallen, has melted within days. I hope I never see another winter that remotely resembles this poor excuse.

That being said, I am going to try to build an igloo and camp at Scenic state park this weekend. Again, the forecast is lacking snow, but the temperature should be nice and cold. The lake should provide a source of snow and if I stick to a 7' igloo, I might be able to build something. This weekend is probably my last good opportunity to igloo camp this winter. The sun is higher in the sky everyday.

Global warming? I am beginning to think Al Gore may have been on to something......

[Igloo Ed]

Another month has passed and the snow refuses to accumulate. I am suffering through one of driest and warmest winters in Minnesota history. Less than 8 inches of snow has accumlated in my yard and what little has fallen, has melted within days. I hope I never see another winter that remotely resembles this poor excuse.

That being said, I am going to try to build an igloo and camp at Scenic state park this weekend. Again, the forecast is lacking snow, but the temperature should be nice and cold. The lake should provide a source of snow and if I stick to a 7' igloo, I might be able to build something. This weekend is probably my last good opportunity to igloo camp this winter. The sun is higher in the sky everyday.

Global warming? I am beginning to think Al Gore may have been on to something......

A sad deal, for sure. Ya can't build a snowshelter with any less snow than with the ICEBOX but no snow is a problem.
If the snow is soft enough on the lake ice, it don't take to much because you can get it all, not like what you lose into the grass.
I once built an igloo at Breezy Point/Cross Lake on the ice with three inches. We had four of us building and a nine footer went pretty fast.
Then too, I know a guy that drives right past the Longmont airport every day that has an extra bed... Just sayin.