What’s the Most Accurate Weather Forecast for the Gunflint Trail?

     When people want to know what the weather is going to be like on the Gunflint Trail they sometimes look at the forecast for Grand Marais, Minnesota.  Do yourself a favor and do not use that forecast if you’re planning to come up the Gunflint Trail.

     Grand Marais is right on Lake Superior and that big lake acts like a refrigerator in the summer and a heater in the winter.  It’s not unusual for the temperature at the end of the Gunflint Trail to be 30 degrees warmer in the summer or 30 degrees colder in the winter.  Even along the 56 mile stretch of the Gunflint Trail the temperature can vary from 10-20 degrees depending upon where you are at.

     I sometimes look at the Ely, Minnesota forecast for our weather at Voyageur.  We’re not very far away by the way the wolves run.  There’s also a forecast I find for Northern Cook and Northern Lake Counties   but that’s a pretty big area to predict a forecast for.  You can look at the forecast for the Grand Marais Airport that is only 3 miles SE of Grand Marais and get a completely different forecast. 

     Why am I so obsessed with the weather this week?  Because we’re finally just over a week away for the Mush for a Cure and the weather we get this next week is important.  We’ve got plenty of snow on the ground and the trails are in great condition for the dogs to run on.  There’s a couple of feet of ice on the lakes for the 40 plus dog trucks that will park on Gunflint Lake next Saturday morning.  We don’t want to see these conditions change before next weekend.

     When a friend at a Mush for a Cure meeting last night said the forecast called for temperatures in the 40’s next week I just had to check all of my forecasts to see where he saw that because believe me, I’ve been keeping my eyes on the forecast.  The only forecast out of the above that I could find with a 40 on it was the one below.  This made me happy.  Not only because I called him a liar but also because the forecast still looks really good for next week’s Mush for a Cure.  

     While some of you may not care too much about the weather or may want the recent snow to disappear quickly I ask that you please hold off from wishing it away until after next weekend.  I want to make sure the dogs have a good trail for their paws so they can keep their mushers safe and I want a solid sheet of ice without slush on it for the musher’s trucks to get on and off of Gunflint and Poplar Lake without a hitch.   

     Thank you very MUSH!

Today…Cloudy with a chance of light snow and patchy light freezing drizzle. Highs 28 to 33. Northeast winds around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Tonight…Cloudy with a 60 percent chance of light snow. Lows 17 to 22. Southeast winds around 5 mph in the evening becoming light…then becoming southeast around 5 mph early in the morning.

Friday…Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of light snow. Highs 30 to 35. East winds around 5 mph.

Friday Night…Cloudy. Light snow likely in the evening…then a chance of light snow after midnight. Light snow accumulations. Lows 15 to 20. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of snow 60 percent.

Saturday…Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of light snow. Highs 23 to 28. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night And Sunday…Cloudy with a 30 percent chance of light snow. Lows 6 to 11. Highs 18 to 23.

Sunday Night And Monday…Mostly cloudy. Lows 3 to 8. Highs 28 to 33.

Monday Night…Mostly cloudy. Lows 20 to 25.

Tuesday…Partly cloudy. Highs 35 to 40.

Tuesday Night…Mostly cloudy. Lows 18 to 23.

Wednesday…Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of light snow and light rain. Highs 28 to 33.