Do you need a snowblower in Duluth, MN?
What clears snow in Duluth
Gas single-stage
Duluth gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 7.3 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.
Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.
How much snow Duluth gets
- Snow a year
- 56 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 2.7 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 3 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 101
Heavy, more than most snowy cities. That is about 1.6 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 7.3 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Duluth
- Oct0.2
- Nov5.8
- Dec12.3
- Jan14.5
- Feb12.4
- Mar9.1
- Apr1.7
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Duluth and its neighbours
Duluth is number 7 of 103 Minnesota towns here for snowfall; Hermantown gets the most at 90 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hermantown, MN | 5 | 90 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Superior, WI | 6 | 56 in | Gas single-stage |
| Cloquet, MN | 18 | 71 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Hibbing, MN | 57 | 60 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Grand Rapids, MN | 73 | 60 in | Cordless single-stage |
| North Branch, MN | 96 | 52 in | Gas single-stage |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Superior, 4.4 miles from Duluth. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.