How Behind On Snow Is Duluth, Minnesota So Far In 2023?

At this point, we are seeing a pretty interesting winter in Duluth but for a different reason than usual. Instead of getting dumped with snow and frigid temperatures, the talk of the town is the fact that we aren't seeing either of those things at all.

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It has been such a mild December so far and winter in general. We have only seen a few light dustings of snow and it has only been cold a handful of times. In fact, it hasn't even dropped below zero for a prolonged period of time.

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While this is a nice break from what we usually see during the wintertime, there are some benefits to snow! Plus, winter sports enthusiasts are itching to get out on the snowmobile trails and ski hills with a ton of fresh powder.

So while we know we are well behind the average snowfall for this time of year in Duluth, just how far behind are we? The National Weather Service of Duluth answered this question on social media Thursday (December 7th).

So far, we have only had about four inches of snow! Usually, we see about twenty-one inches of snow. Wow, this really puts into perspective just how far behind we are. We have a long way to go to catch up to that and it doesn't seem likely we will by the end of the month.

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As for if we will see a white Christmas, we will have to wait and see! At the time of writing, we were seeing temperatures in the 30s and 40s into the foreseeable future with dry conditions into the weekend. What an unusual winter for Minnesota so far.

The 15 Least Snowy 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 lowest 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 "least snowy winters", they actually include all seasonal snowfall from July 1 through June 30 of the following year.

Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth

Things A Texan Needs To Survive Their First Minnesota Winter

New to town? Did you come here from a warmer climate? There was recently a Redditor who asked Duluthians what they needed to buy to prepare themselves for their first winter in Duluth. What would you add to the list?

Gallery Credit: Ken Hayes