White Christmas on the Gunflint Trail

We’ll be having a white Christmas on the Gunflint Trail. Some areas of the Gunflint Trail received over 12″ of snow. Unfortunately we didn’t get that much but we do have a good coating on the trees and on the ground. The river is still open but hopefully that will freeze soon so we can hike our favorite snowshoe loop across the river. We’re happy for the snow and knowing we’ll have a white Christmas.

DNR Question of the week

Q:  Historically speaking, how often do we have a white Christmas in Minnesota?

A:  Having a white Christmas is generally defined as having 1 inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day. In the Twin Cities, this happens about 72 percent of the time. In northern Minnesota, the chance of a white Christmas is 90 percent or greater. In the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Lake Superior Highlands, a white Christmas is almost guaranteed. The chances decrease to the south and west, down to around 60 percent in far southwestern Minnesota.

For more details, including the probabilities of various snow depths in select cities, visit the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/climate/summaries_and_publications/white_christmas.html.

Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist