First Measurable Snowfall Recorded In Duluth For 2023-2024 Winter

As if the cold start to the new week hasn't already made it clear: winter is here. We were pretty spoiled after a hot summer followed by a mild fall in the Northland. Now, it is safe to say we have officially transitioned into winter.

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This was made even more clear after a little fact the National Weather Service of Duluth shared on social media Monday (October 30th). Despite a few flurries throughout the past few days, we have had our first 'measurable' snowfall of the season in Duluth.

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The first 'measurable' snowfall pretty much speaks for itself. This doesn't include flurries or trace amounts of snow that melt away right away. The first snowfall happened between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. on Sunday night (October 29th).

Sigh. Don't fret just yet though: it was only two-tenths of an inch! If you've been keeping up with the weather forecast, this isn't a huge surprise. We were already expected to see our first measurable snowfall with a wintry system during the second half of last week.

It could always be worse! North Dakota got a real taste of winter just a few days ago. Parts of the state got quite a bit of snow, enough to make for some very messy road conditions. Yikes!

As for what we can expect moving forward in the Duluth area, WDIO Meteorologist Brandon Weatherz says more snow is in the forecast as we wrap up October! We can expect more light snow into Halloween, meaning we are really easing into things.

Originally, I thought this was a little early for winter to return for the season but I was wrong! I asked WDIO Meteorologist Brandon Weatherz if we usually see snow in October and we do, nearly three inches by the end of the month.

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The Old Farmer's Almanac predicted the first snowfall to come in early November so they weren't too far off. However, I was really hoping their forecast was true so that we could be snow-free for October. Oh well!

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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.

Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth