2021-2022 Winter Climate Summary

Winter 2021-2022 can be described as cool and snowy for most places. December was above normal temperature-wise with the mid-December “megastorm” bringing the warmest temperatures of the winter for Duluth and Ashland. With that warm weather, snowfall flatlined and became below average at Duluth and International Falls, but a pattern shift just after Christmas brought much colder and active weather that persisted through January and February. A cold northwesterly flow regime dominated with plenty of cold air outbreaks and light snow events from Alberta clipper systems. A few larger systems were sprinkled in as well, including several large lake-enhanced systems that brought impressive snowfall amounts to the South Shore. We also experienced a rare snow squall event on February 18, which started in our region and spread across the northeastern US.