City wins 'Golden Shovel Award' after unprecedented snowfall
The seasonal snowfall total in one Minnesota city has re-written the record books, with the amount of powder surpassing what one big city has received over the past decade combined.
The Mississippi River may be rising to levels not seen in 20 years with recent snow and rain on top of melting snowpack in the Upper Midwest.
This past winter was an unrelenting one in one corner of the northern United States. And even with one month of astronomical spring in the books, snow is still piling up.
A multifaceted storm left a fresh blanket of snow across northern Minnesota on Thursday, including the city of Duluth, located on the western tip of Lake Superior. This was the same system that also spawned a deadly EF3 tornado in Oklahoma.
The fresh powder sent the seasonal snowfall to a staggering 137.1 inches (11.4 feet), a new all-time record for the city. The previous record of 135.4 inches was measured during the 1995-1996 snow season.
For comparison, the seasonal snowfall in Duluth is more snow than the 133.3 inches of snow that have accumulated in Washington, D.C., since the start of 2011.
However, it is just a fraction of the incredible snow that piled up in the West following atmospheric rivers and bomb cyclones. Mammoth Mountain, a ski resort located in the southern Sierra Nevada, has measured 705 inches as of April 8, the snowiest winter on record. Alta ski resort in Utah also broke an all-time record with a whopping 880 inches of snow, nearly double the historical average.
A man clears a driveway with a snowblower after a second round of snow storm passed through northern Minnesota Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Duluth, Minn. (AP Photo/Holden Law)
GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
•Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+
The first snow accumulation of the season in Duluth was measured on Oct. 14, 2022, but the persistent snowstorms did not arrive until December.
One storm in particular on Dec. 15, 2022, caused the amount of snow on the ground to surpass 20 inches, a level that the snowpack did not fall below for 116 days until April 11, 2023, when the temperature soared into the 60s F. The melting snow across the region is elevating the flood risk on major rivers.
After the city set a new snowfall record, the National Weather Service quipped that Duluth won the "Golden Shovel Award."
And the snow isn't over yet.
AccuWeather meteorologists are predicting more snow will fall in Duluth into the weekend, which will add to the impressive seasonal snowfall record.
Additional snowfall cannot be ruled out in Duluth after the upcoming weekend. In 2019, the city measured 2.4 inches of snow on May 19, the record for the latest snowfall on record.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Report a Typo
