Seasonal snowfall in Duluth nearing 100 inches, again

At first it came in one big dollop. Then it came in spurts. Now it just keeps coming.

Duluth received more than 6 inches of new snow Friday, pushing the seasonal snowfall total -since snow started last autumn - to about 98 inches.
That’s nearly two feet more than average for this time of year and already more than a foot above what we usually get for an entire winter season. International Falls reported a full foot of new snow Friday, with much of the rest of the region receiving between 4 and 8 inches.
And there probably will be more to come: Don’t forget (how could you?) that last April was the snowiest month in Duluth’s recorded history, when 50.8 inches of snow fell. A total of 110 inches of snow fell last winter, the fifth snowiest on record for the city.
Duluth’s all-time snowiest winter on record was 1995-96, when 135.4 inches fell.
Friday’s snow seemed unusually slippery, snarling traffic in many areas, especially on roads climbing Duluth’s hillside. Duluth police responded to at least 21 accidents during the six-hour snowfall, along with six vehicles in the ditch.
Superior police gated the Duluth-bound lanes of the Blatnik Bridge for about a half hour Friday when semi-trucks couldn’t get up the bridge’s incline, stalling traffic. Superior police Sgt. John Nowicki said it was likely the first time the barrier had been used to block bridge traffic since it was installed during the 2012-13 refurbishing of the bridge.
Interstate 35 between Duluth and Moose Lake also was a hot spot for vehicles in the ditch.
The National Weather Service in Duluth doesn’t call for much new snow over the next few days. But it also doesn’t call for much melting. Temperatures are expected to be 20 to 25 degrees below normal over the weekend - highs in the teens and lows in the single digits - with temperatures not crawling to near normal, or above freezing, until Thursday.
There is some good news. Some long-range forecasts are calling for temperatures to rise above 50 degrees, maybe even climb to near 60, by the end of the month. But before that, there’s also a chance of another snowstorm next Friday.

• The 6.5 inches of snow that fell at the Duluth airport through 6 p.m. Friday was a record for the date, the Weather Service reported. The old record for March 21 was 4.9 inches, set in 1949.

Staff writer Mike Creger contributed to this story.

RELATED CONTENT

Snow totals from around the Northland

1/4: Superior police officer John Nowicki hand-cranks the gate to close the northbound lanes of the Blatnik Bridge during Friday's snowstorm. Two trucks were unable to make it up the bridge, got stuck and blocked traffic. Duluth-bound traffic from Hammond Avenue to the bridge was blocked by the gate as of midday; Superior-bound lanes were open at last report. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com)

2/4: John Caple of Duluth, who is blind, carefully makes his way to the Duluth Public Library in Friday morning's slippery snow. He was not pleased that this happened on the first full day of spring. "Whoever ordered this is sick," said Caple. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com)

3/4: The gate was lowered to close the northbound lanes of the Blatnik Bridge from Superior to Duluth on Friday afternoon. The lanes were reopened after about a half-hour, police said. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com)

4/4: Duluth police officers work with a tow truck operator to tow a car that slid into the bus stop at Superior Street and Fifth Avenue West in downtown Duluth on Friday morning, March 21, 2014. Wet snow made driving extremely slippery. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com)