AZ-0002 · Curios
Field bulletinFor the cold months
Wind chill, weather, the ice, the road and the table.
Form 1 · Calculator
How cold it feels on bare skin, by the National Weather Service formula. It applies at 50 °F or colder, with wind of 3 mph or more. It works without JavaScript.
Guidance here is general. For frostbite times at specific wind chills, see the NWS chart.
Form 2 · Forecast
Minneapolis
58 °F
Sunny, wind 15 mph.
A heatwave. Why are you wearing a jacket?
The current-hour forecast from the National Weather Service, refreshed about every ten minutes. Reload for the latest.
Form 3 · Opinion
Slide to a temperature and I will tell you how a Minnesotan takes it.
32 °F / 0 °C. Hoodie weather. Perfect for grilling.
Minnesota winters are long, bright and very cold, and people here have built a culture around them. This guide is for new Minnesotans, winter visitors and anyone curious about life in the North Star State when the lakes freeze. It covers what to expect, what to eat, how to stay safe on the ice and the road, and how cold it really gets. Use the tabs above to move between the sections.
Dress in layers: a wicking base layer, an insulating middle layer and a windproof outer layer. Cover your head, hands, face and ears, and keep your feet dry. Wind makes everything colder, which is why forecasts quote the wind chill, a measure of how fast exposed skin loses heat. Try the calculator above to see it for yourself.
Winter here means festivals, rinks, lantern-lit lakes and jumping into holes in the ice for charity. Many people plan their social lives around staying warm together. Six that I would put on a calendar:
Saint Paul, since 1886
The first carnival was held in 1886, the story goes, to answer a New York reporter who had called Minnesota another Siberia. Saint Paul built an ice palace, crowned King Boreas and has been returning to it, on and off, ever since. There are parades, ice carving and a medallion hunt.
Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis
For a weekend each winter a city lake turns into a village of outdoor rinks, with wooden boards, teams of every age and a great deal of tea and coffee in thermoses.
Duluth
A free walk-through holiday light display on the edge of Lake Superior, billed as the largest of its kind, with millions of lights. Bring a hat. The lake wind does not care about the lights.
A frozen Twin Cities lake
Artists build small, odd, interactive structures on the ice, in the shape of the fish houses that anglers use. It is a gallery where everyone keeps their parka on.
Lakes across the state
People jump into an open hole in a frozen lake on purpose, to raise money for Special Olympics Minnesota. It makes a friendship that only the first ten seconds can forge.
Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis
A winter night of skiing or walking on a lake lit by thousands of ice lanterns and fires on the shore. It is the quietest event in the list.
ask about the seventh dish
Winter food is warm, filling and a little stubborn. Here is what to try, and what to be careful with.
Do not call it a casserole
A baked dish of ground meat, vegetables and a creamy sauce, topped with a crisp layer of tater tots. It is served at church basements, funerals, potlucks and most Tuesdays.
Made with the state grain
A thick soup made with wild rice, a grain that grows in the state’s northern lakes. It is often made with chicken or ham and sometimes served in a bread bowl.
Wait five minutes
A burger with the cheese sealed inside the patty. The first bite releases molten cheese, so let it cool before you start.
The state fish
Walleye, breaded and fried, on a bun with tartar sauce and a lemon wedge. Check for bones.
An acquired taste
Dried whitefish soaked in lye, then rinsed and cooked until it turns soft and jelly-like. It is a Scandinavian holiday dish that people either love or avoid, and is served with butter or white sauce.
The fuel of every rink
The official drink of outdoor rinks, sledding hills and ice shelters. Adults sometimes add a splash of peppermint schnapps after clearing the driveway.
You cannot catch them from the couch. Well, with a page you can: Out on the Ice is a game of drilling, waiting and setting the hook, and what bites depends on where you fish, how deep and when, as it does on a real lake.
Spend a day on a frozen lake: pick a spot, drill a hole, set a tip-up and set the hook when something bites. What bites follows the DNR notes in the gallery below.
Where is the muskie? Minnesota's muskie season closes in early December, so none is caught through the ice. Minnesota DNR: how to catch a muskellunge
Ice fishing is a winter staple: anglers drill a hole through the ice and fish from the surface or from a heated shelter. Common catches include walleye, northern pike, crappie, sunfish and perch. Check the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rules and license requirements before you go.
Seven fish you might meet, and what the DNR says about where and when they bite.
The state fish, and the reason for the fish fry.
Holds on points, humps, narrows and drop-offs, most often within a few feet of the bottom, and bites most in the low light of dawn and dusk.
The 90 minutes before and after sunset are prime time.
Limits and size rules vary by lake. Check the DNR regulations before you keep one. Minnesota DNR: ice fishing for walleye
Mind the teeth. Pickled pike, anyone?
Waits to ambush prey on points, narrows and weedlines, mostly in six to 15 feet of water.
The Minnesota record weighed 45 pounds, 12 ounces.
Minnesota has three pike zones with different rules. Check the DNR regulations. Minnesota DNR: ice fishing for northern pike
A slab. Good eating.
Suspends between the surface and the bottom, often over the deepest holes, and bites best at dawn and dusk.
Its soft mouth tears if you set the hook too hard.
Crappie brought up from deeper than 20 feet often die if released, so keep what you catch there (within the limit). Minnesota DNR: ice fishing for crappie
A little small. Throw it back.
Holds just above or along the edges of green weedbeds, and bites best near dawn and dusk.
The average bluegill is four to eight inches long and about half a pound.
The DNR suggests releasing large sunfish so the lake does not fill with stunted ones. Minnesota DNR: ice fishing for sunfish
The fish of ten thousand casts.
Not on the ice: the statewide muskie season closes in early December, so no muskie is caught through the ice.
The catch-and-release record is a 58¼-inch fish from Mille Lacs, in 2022.
The statewide minimum to keep one is 54 inches, so most are released. Minnesota DNR: how to catch a muskellunge
Small and tasty.
Is shallow by green weeds early in winter, moves to deeper water and drop-offs as winter goes on, and bites best at dawn and dusk.
The Minnesota record weighed 3 pounds, 4 ounces.
Limits and size rules vary by lake. Check the DNR regulations. Minnesota DNR: ice fishing for perch
Ugly as sin, and known as the poor man’s lobster.
Also called burbot. It is especially active in winter and in low light, and takes bait held within inches of a deep, muddy bottom.
The tough skin was once used in the windows of Siberia as a substitute for glass.
Most are under 28 inches and under 8 pounds. The state record is 19 pounds, 3 ounces. Minnesota DNR: burbot species profile
Tick what is already in your trunk. Nothing is saved, so it is a checklist for the next time you pack.
How much snow does it take to close things down?
| Snowfall | Impact | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 inches | Nuisance | Roads are greasy and the commute takes twice as long. Schools open. |
| 4 to 7 inches | Messy | The plows are scrambling. Two-hour delays are possible, and a winter driving advisory is likely. |
| 8 to 12 inches | Heavy | A snow emergency is declared and tow trucks are busy. Schools are likely to close. |
| Over 12 inches | Buried | Travel is not advised. Even the SUVs get stuck. Stay home. |
| Any ice | Critical | Freezing rain is the great equalizer. Expect an instant school closing. |
Choosing your vehicle is the most important decision you will make at the top of the hill.
The state has no mountains, only very ambitious hills, and they are icy, fast and often lit until late. Four places to start, downhill and cross-country:
If there is snow in Minnesota, someone has groomed a trail on it, and cross-country is arguably more popular than downhill.
The DNR's minimum for walking on new, clear ice is four inches, and it advises more for snowmobiles, ATVs and vehicles. No ice is ever guaranteed safe. Snow cover, warm spells and moving water all weaken it, and thickness changes across a lake, so measure it yourself with an auger or spud bar, and do not rely on someone else's tracks.
White ice is weaker. These figures are for new, clear ice only. White ice, also called snow ice, is about half as strong. Double the thickness for it.
| Thickness | Bar | Safe for |
|---|---|---|
| Two inches or less | Stay off. | |
| Four inches | Walking and ice fishing, on foot. | |
| Five to seven inches | A snowmobile or ATV. | |
| Eight to twelve inches | A car or small pickup. | |
| Twelve to fifteen inches | A medium truck. | |
| Fifteen inches and more | A heavy truck. |
| When | Thickness | Status | What it is like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early December | 0 to 4 inches | Forming | The first ice is extremely variable. Test with a chisel at every step. |
| Late December | 4 to 10 inches | Walking and ATVs | Often safe for walking, and the snowmobiles start to venture out. |
| January | 12 to 20 inches | Driving | Ice roads open on the big lakes, and pickups drive out to the shelters. |
| February | 20 to 36 inches | Peak ice | Auger extensions come out. The lake is as hard as concrete in the middle. |
| March | Thinning | Rotting | The ice goes soft and honeycombed. It is dangerous whatever its thickness, so get off. |
The numbers behind the stories. Sources are listed at the end.
| −60 °F | State record low. The coldest official temperature in the state’s history, or −51 °C, according to the Minnesota DNR. Near Tower, St. Louis County · 2 February 1996 |
|---|---|
| −56 °F | Coldest in the Lower 48 in years. The National Weather Service in Duluth reported it as the coldest reading in the contiguous United States during that outbreak. Cotton, St. Louis County · 31 January 2019 |
| 170.5 inches | Snowiest winter. The state’s record for seasonal snowfall, from the Minnesota DNR: more than fourteen feet, taller than a basketball hoop. Pigeon River Bridge, near Grand Portage · 1949 to 1950 |
| 28.4 inches | Halloween blizzard. The single-storm record there, per the DNR. Duluth got 36.9 inches, but it was the metro area that shut down for days. Twin Cities airport · 31 October 1991 |
| 114 °F | Highest temperature. The same state has a heat record, which is a 160 °F swing from the cold one. Sources differ on the exact figure, so treat it as about 114. Beardsley, and Moorhead · 29 July 1917 and 6 July 1936 |
Recd. hdg 347° · 03:12
Hiems minnesotensis
A guide to Minnesota winters with live weather, a wind chill calculator, ice safety, winter driving tips, food and traditions.
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