Snow lovers will be thrilled with Minnesota’s winter outlook

MAZEPPA, Minn. — Like it or not, winter is just around the corner.

After a brown season last year, some Minnesotans are keeping their fingers crossed.

Snow might not be on your mind yet.

“You wish you had a Magic 8 Ball that would tell you the weather,” Steeplechase owner Justin Steck said.

But it’s all Steck can think about these days. Steck owns and operates Steeplechase, a snow tubing and skiing hill near Rochester.

“We stayed open the whole season, it just was a little slower than expected for our first year opening the ski hill back up,” Steck said.

Last year, Mother Nature wasn’t in his favor.

“The forecasts look a lot better this winter and so we’re really hopeful it’s going to be an amazing winter,” Steck said.

And the good news is…

“Things are looking better for the winter lovers this year,” WCCO meteorologist Adam Del Rosso said.

Our NEXT Weather team says we’re in the process of transitioning into to La Niña winter.

“In a typical La Niña winter that usually means colder than average and snowier than average,” Del Rosso said.

To put it into perspective, the average Minnesota snowfall is 51.2 inches. In 2023, we saw 29.5 inches, and the year before 90.3.

With .2 inches of recorded snowfall so far this season, WCCO meteorologists don’t believe we’ll break records, but we will be above average.

“To be a little bit more specific I’m thinking more so the tail end of winter when we kind of want it to be over, that’s the period that’s going to be a little colder and perhaps a little snowier,” Del Rosso said.

For now, it’s a waiting game, but until the snow sticks, Steck and his team will be busy prepping Steeplechase for what they hope is a spectacular season.

“At some point in time we know temps will drop and we’ll get after it,” Steck said.

Steeplechase is aiming to open its tubing hills by Thanksgiving weekend and its ski hills shortly after in December.