Hello All! Alder Pond, Stoney Ridge, Blueberry, Boomer-Blue, Cowhorn, Forest History Center, River Road, Legion, MN Power and Portage Park in Cohasset, Mount Itasca, South Suomi,(but not North Suomi) Amen Lake and Joyce Estate all were groomed this week.
This morning a track was set at Sugar Hills on 90% of the trails. There are a number of tree branches hanging over the trail so we encourage all skiers to nip a few as you go through the woods.
The first annual fun ski at Sugar Hills will take place tomorrow, Saturday the 30th around 10:30ish. Skiers of all ages and abilities will be skiing and socializing throughout the morning and afternoon. Bring your good skis (and a nipper?) plus a lunch/beverage to refuel before going out to ski again. We're working on having a fire so there may be a place to warm up! Cheers!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Quiet Weather, Groomed Trails
Quiet weather until further notice (late Feb or March?). The groomers have done a great job on the trails. See their report below.
Grooming Update
On Monday, January 25th River Road, Cow Horn and the Boomer-Blue Trails in Grand Rapids were groomed and tracks set. The skiing should be great.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Update on Jan 23-25 storm
6:30 PM Jan 23rd
The first round of snow has mostly passed, and the temperature should stay steady in the mid 30s overnight through midday Sunday. Some occasional light snow will be possible, too, but I don't expect more than a quarter inch accumulation. About an inch of snow fell on top of the ice. Approximately 3 to 5 inches fell along the North Dakota border in the Red River Valley.
The second round will come sometime Sunday afternoon as a stronger low pressure area develops in Illinois and moves northward to Lake Superior. Snow will spread from Wisconsin northwestward into much of northern Minnesota. The heaviest will be in the Arrowhead east of Highway 53 and northwestern Wisconsin closer to the low, where amounts of six inches or more will be possible. Farther west snow amounts will be quite a bit less. This snow will gradually diminish to just flurries by Monday afternoon. Expect 1 to 3 inches in Grand Rapids from this second round, bringing our total to 2 to 4 inches (including the inch that we already got today).
On Sunday evening, winds will become stronger and northerly, and arctic air will again enter the area, dropping the temperatures to values closer to normal for this time of year.
Updated forecast snow amounts (totals from Friday evening through Monday):
Grand Rapids 2-4"
Grand Forks, ND 5-8"
Twin Cities 0.5-2"
Duluth, North Shore of Lake Superior 5-10"
International Falls 4-6"
Brainerd 2-3"
Bemidji 2-4"
Ely 4-8"
The first round of snow has mostly passed, and the temperature should stay steady in the mid 30s overnight through midday Sunday. Some occasional light snow will be possible, too, but I don't expect more than a quarter inch accumulation. About an inch of snow fell on top of the ice. Approximately 3 to 5 inches fell along the North Dakota border in the Red River Valley.
The second round will come sometime Sunday afternoon as a stronger low pressure area develops in Illinois and moves northward to Lake Superior. Snow will spread from Wisconsin northwestward into much of northern Minnesota. The heaviest will be in the Arrowhead east of Highway 53 and northwestern Wisconsin closer to the low, where amounts of six inches or more will be possible. Farther west snow amounts will be quite a bit less. This snow will gradually diminish to just flurries by Monday afternoon. Expect 1 to 3 inches in Grand Rapids from this second round, bringing our total to 2 to 4 inches (including the inch that we already got today).
On Sunday evening, winds will become stronger and northerly, and arctic air will again enter the area, dropping the temperatures to values closer to normal for this time of year.
Updated forecast snow amounts (totals from Friday evening through Monday):
Grand Rapids 2-4"
Grand Forks, ND 5-8"
Twin Cities 0.5-2"
Duluth, North Shore of Lake Superior 5-10"
International Falls 4-6"
Brainerd 2-3"
Bemidji 2-4"
Ely 4-8"
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Forecast Snow Amounts Jan 23-25
Grand Rapids 1-4"
Grand Forks, ND 12-15"
Twin Cities 1-4"
Duluth, North Shore of Lake Superior 5-10"
International Falls 4-6"
Brainerd 2-5"
Bemidji 3-7"
Ely 1-3"
Grand Forks, ND 12-15"
Twin Cities 1-4"
Duluth, North Shore of Lake Superior 5-10"
International Falls 4-6"
Brainerd 2-5"
Bemidji 3-7"
Ely 1-3"
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Update on Weekend Precipitation (Jan 23-24)
The bulk of the weekend storm will be focused on the eastern Dakotas where a foot or more of snow will be possible. In northern Minnesota, my best guess right now would be that we'll get a mixture of light rain and snow that will start Saturday afternoon and continue on and off through late Sunday. By Sunday evening, more cold air will work into the system, changing all the rain to steady light snow. Expect 1-4" accumulation Sunday evening through Monday in Grand Rapids. Temperatures will likely hover in the 30-36 degree range most of the weekend.
After the system passes, I would expect another three or four weeks of dry weather based mostly the fact that late January through mid February is climatologically the driest part of the year (although there are always exceptions).
After the system passes, I would expect another three or four weeks of dry weather based mostly the fact that late January through mid February is climatologically the driest part of the year (although there are always exceptions).
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Warm Weather Continues, Rain/Snow Storm this Weekend
The weather pattern this past week has looked like a rather typical for a winter with El Nino. Arctic Air is locked away in far northern Canada and Alaska, and the storm track is across the southern U.S. The forecasts for this coming week do not look quite as warm as they had looked earlier, but we will still have above-average temperatures in the 20s and 30s.
By this weekend, a storm system will be moving into the central U.S. Initially, with a lack of cold air, this system may produce a mixture of snow, rain/drizzle or freezing rain/drizzle in Minnesota. The combination of mixed precipitation would change to snow as colder air works into the system. This system had earlier looked like a big rainmaker as far north as southern Manitoba, but now it looks to be more snow than rain. Wherever this storm hits hardest, snow amounts would exceed a foot. There's still some chance the storm could stay south of our area, but we'll most likely get our first accumulating snow of 2010.
After next weekend (Jan 23-24), temperatures will return to near normal.
By this weekend, a storm system will be moving into the central U.S. Initially, with a lack of cold air, this system may produce a mixture of snow, rain/drizzle or freezing rain/drizzle in Minnesota. The combination of mixed precipitation would change to snow as colder air works into the system. This system had earlier looked like a big rainmaker as far north as southern Manitoba, but now it looks to be more snow than rain. Wherever this storm hits hardest, snow amounts would exceed a foot. There's still some chance the storm could stay south of our area, but we'll most likely get our first accumulating snow of 2010.
After next weekend (Jan 23-24), temperatures will return to near normal.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Grooming Update
Amen Trail groomed January 6th; Sugar Hills January 10th; Alder Pond January 12th; Cowhorn and River Road the 14th. The lights are not working at MPL trail. The snow conditions have been good for skiing, enjoy!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Warmer weather (thaws) this week, RAIN next week
Daytime temperatures will start to climb above freezing this week, particularly on Wednesday (13th) and perhaps again this weekend (Jan. 16-17).
Next week will likely be even warmer with both daytime highs and nighttime lows above freezing before the end of next week. We will also have a good chance of rain or drizzle during this time. Weather is usually pretty tough to predict that far ahead, but the signals are very strong this time. If the weather turns out as predicted, we will probably lose most of our snowcover, which means any outdoor recreation based on natural snow will come to an end. Therefore, it would be a good idea to try to do those things (skiing, snowmobiling, etc.) this week.
Next week will likely be even warmer with both daytime highs and nighttime lows above freezing before the end of next week. We will also have a good chance of rain or drizzle during this time. Weather is usually pretty tough to predict that far ahead, but the signals are very strong this time. If the weather turns out as predicted, we will probably lose most of our snowcover, which means any outdoor recreation based on natural snow will come to an end. Therefore, it would be a good idea to try to do those things (skiing, snowmobiling, etc.) this week.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
January Thaw Next Week
The Arctic weather we've been having will depart the area this weekend (Jan 9-10). We should be seeing an extended period (at least a week) of mild weather with high temperatures occasionally reaching above freezing. No significant snow is in the forecast for the foreseeable future.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Ski Conditions - New Year's Day 2010
Most trails in Itasca County have been groomed this week, except Thistledew. Scenic State Park and McCarthy Beach State Park trails were groomed and ICC trails were packed.
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