March 24, 2001

The trails are still in good shape and there is lots of good skiing left. The STAR office is closing this weekend and trail grooming will end for the season.

March 3, 2001

We are continuing to get fresh snow every couple of days and the trails are in excellent shape. Last Sunday we received a day of rain, wind and ice. That was one of the few days this season where the ski condition were not good. By Wednesday, the trails were covered with fresh snow and there were no signs of the ice and rain.

Weather stats for February
It's official. February was declared the heaviest snowfall month of the winter by Environment Canada. There was measurable snowfall on 23 of the 28 days. We received 86.1 centimeters of snow, nearly 33 centimeters above average. In addition, there were 27.5 millimeters of rainfall, nearly 23 millimeters above average. The warmest day of the month was Feb 25 when it reached 3.4 C and it rained 18.6 millimeters. Total precipitation for the month was 94.7 millimeters (after converting snowfall to water), nearly twice the average 50.7 millimeters.

The heaviest snowfall on record (56 years) was 133.8 centimeters in 1968 while the lightest was 9.2 cm in 1993. Last year we received 29.6 cm of snow, a little over one third of this year's total. The overall mean tempurature was -10.1 C, nearly half a degree warmer than average, with the coldest day being -23.9 C on Feb 15.

We have received a total of 238 cm of snow so far this year including 27.7 in November, 66.4 in December and 57.8 in January. The average total snowfall amount is 316.4.

These statatistics are recorded at the Sault airport. We normally receive more snow at Hiawatha Highlands than at the airport.

February 12, 2001

We have received fresh snow since the ice storm on Feb 9. Not only are the trails in excellant shape, but the trees are covered in ice and snow for a very picturesque scene.

January 31, 2001

We received lots of fresh snow during the past week and all the trails are in great shape.

January 6, 2001

We received fresh snow during the past week and the forecast is calling for more snow. All the trails are in great shape.

January 1, 2001

All the trails are open and in fairly good shape. We have not had any fresh snow since Dec 23 and there are a few dirty spots on the trails. We hope the forecast for more snow this week holds true in preparation for the Hiawatha Invitational Ski Races on Jan 13 & 14.

December 17, 2000

We received a lot of snow during the first half of December and most of the trails are open and in good shape. This is a much needed improvement over the conditions we experienced during the latter half of November where warm weather produced slushy and icy conditions.

All the Crystal Creek trails are open with the main 5K trail groomed for both classic and skating while some of the extensions are only groomed for skating. All the Lookout trails are open for both classic and skating except for a short closed section on the Mockingbird Hill extension (through the open field and hill). Only the 4.5K loop on the Red Pine trails is open for classic skiing. More snow is needed before the rest of the Red Pine trails are open.

November 19, 2000

It has snowed off and on for most of the past week and it has been cold enough for most of the snow to stay on the ground. The 2K trail has been rolled and OK for skating.

November 13, 2000

We experienced our first snow of the season. The snow was very wet and it all melted as soon as it reached the warm ground but it was snow nevertheless. The NOAA's forecast may turn out to be right on the mark.

November 4, 2000

According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US government, our area will experience a winter much closer to normal with colder temperatures and lake effect snow. This will be a major departure from the last few winters which were shorter and warmer than normal. Follow this link for NOAA's official prediction with supporting documentation and maps.