Weather Forecasting for the Gunflint Trail

     There’s a blog I look at sometimes by Paul Douglas.  I think he was a weather forecaster or meteorologist for a television station in the Twin Cities when I was growing up but I’m not positive.  He puts together some interesting data about historical weather events. 

     In his latest blog he writes about the Arrowhead Region we live in.  According to Paul October 27th is the average date our snow season begins and the Grand Marais/Lutsen area has 160 days out of the year that have an inch or more of snow on the ground.  Our snow season on the Gunflint Trail starts earlier and lasts longer than the towns on the shore of Lake Superior so I’m guessing we have at least 175 days.  It would be interesting if someone would keep track.  For the record there is no snow in Grand Marais right now and probably a foot at the end of the Trail.  We shall see how many days it takes for Grand Marais to have an inch of snow on the ground.

     Another statistic Paul writes about is the probability of a white Christmas.  The odds of us having a white Christmas on the Gunflint Trail are right around 95% and this year I’d say it’s up to 100% with the amount of snow on the ground right now. 

     So if you’re looking for a place to experience winter then the Gunflint Trail is the perfect place.  Whether it’s snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing or just taking in the beauty of winter the Gunflint Trail is where you should be.