Four Season Cottages and Vacation Suites
On the Shore of Lake Superior
Grand Marais, Minnesota
December 2019
Dec 31: 2019 ends with a strikingly beautiful winter day. Our low this morning was 16 and we are at 24 so far this afternoon. We have clear blue skies overhead with a few light bands of clouds in the distance. Yesterday afternoon and last night we had 3" of fresh fluffy snow that makes the world look fresh and lit up by the sun. Lake Superior is a brilliant blue except for the blinding reflections from the sun. We have small waves from the south against a dark gray horizon.
Dec 30: Temps climbed to 35 in the middle of the night and then began to descend. We are now at 29 at noon and expected to drop into the teens later this afternoon. We finished moving the wet snow from yesterday this morning just in time for a new dusting of snow starting to come down. Skies are gray overcast. Lake Superior is a shade darker of gray than the sky with 2-3ft waves from the SSE.
Dec 29: The snow began around 9pm last night. It warmed up overnight and was 32 degrees with 4-5 inches of wet snow by morning. The snow changed to a freezing rain around 1pm after another 3 inches of wet snow had fallen. Our high for the day and pretty much our temperature all day long was 34 degrees. The snow was beautiful, but it was back-breaking work all day today and we will probably have another back-breaking day of work tomorrow. Lake Superior has 3-5ft waves smashing the shore all day from the south.
Dec 28: A storm is supposed to be on the way but there are no signs here in Grand Marais yet. We have thinly overcast skies with the sun trying unsuccessfully to break through. Even though the sun cannot break through, it still has a strong and almost blinding reflection off the lake. Lake Superior has 1-2ft waves from the south. We saw several ore freighters going by us yesterday and all through the night. Our low this morning was 23 and our high will be just a little over freezing.
Dec 27: We got down to 26 this morning and our high today was 35. It was a clear sunny day along the Croftville shore. There was lots of ice on the road from the warm temperatures yesterday when we got up to 39 degrees. The waves on the big lake have changed and are now 2-3ft blue waves with navy shadows coming from the south. What a great day to be outside as long as you are careful of the ice.
Dec 26: The string of warm days continue. Our low this morning was 35 and we are currently at 38 at noon with heavy gray overcast skies and drizzle. There was actually a thunderstorm over Lake Superior last night and this morning we had heavy rain coming down for brief periods. The overcast skies have helped to prevent snow loss the past few days but the rain today has really accelerated the process. Lake Superior has 1ft green blue waves from the SE against a hazy horizon.
Dec 25: Merry Christmas from Croftville Road. It is a heavy gray overcast this morning. The only hint of a break in the overcast is a slightly lighter sky at the horizon across the lake. Lake Superior is a blue green with 1-2ft waves from the SE. There is a darker blue narrow band right at the horizon. We woke up to 32 degrees this morning after a high yesterday of 35.
Dec 24: We wake up to 32 degrees this morning. Skies have low hanging dark gray clouds against a lighter blue horizon. Lake Superior has 2-3ft green waves with dark olive shadows and a few whitecaps on them from the SE. The air is still and except for the waves, the snow is absorbing all other sounds.
Dec 23: With only 2 days to Christmas our warm days along the North Shore continue. Our low today was 30 this morning and our high climbed to 38 in spite of the cloudy and overcast skies. If the sun had come out we would have been in the 40's. Lake Superior had 2-3ft greenish gray waves pounding the shore from the SE. We saw several ships passing by today. I heard the last "saltie" of the shipping season left Duluth yesterday for the Atlantic and the first ore freighter was dry docked for the end of the season in Duluth today.
Dec 22: It was another warm day along the Lake Superior shore with a low of 24 and a high of 26. Once again there was little thawing since there was overcast skies and fog and the shortest day of the year. Lake Superior was quite impressive with a gray surface and 1-2ft waves from the south. Over the surface sat a bank of fog. Over the fog was a line of clouds that mostly obscured the low hangin sun with just a few rays of sun peaking through.
Dec 21: It is pitch dark by 5pm now. The days are so short with the winter solstice coming tomorrow. It was a warm day in Croftville. Our morning low this morning was 30 degrees and our afternoon high was 34. With overcast skies and short daylight hours, the short spell of above freezing temperatures had no impact on our snow cover. Lake Superior calmed down today with just 1ft gray waves fro most of the day.
Dec 20: We are on a verge of a thaw today. Our morning low was 15 and we are at 31 degrees at 1pm. Skies are a dark gray overcast but are lighter near the southern horizon. Lake Superior has powered up 3-4ft waves from the SE. The waves are a chocolately color near the shore and turn to a green color with whitecaps further out.
Dec 19: It was a much warmer day today with a low of 13 and a high of 23. We had partly sunny skies today and a dark blue horizon line to the south. Lake Superior was blue with small waves from the south.
Dec 18: We woke up to 10 below here next to the lake as the temps continued to descend overnight. We have mostly sunny skies today except for the dark cloudmass over Lake Superior. The sun is warming things up quickly. We are already at 10 above at 1pm. Lake Superior has a textured surface with 1ft blue waves and black shadows from the south. As the cloud mass over the lake begins to dissipate with the warmer temperatures, the sun has increasing blinding reflections off the water surface.
Dec 17: We have partly sunny skies today with small purplish tinted clouds. Lake Superior has 2-3ft roller waves coming from the south and breaking right before hitting shore. Our low this morning was 11, our high late this morning was 18 and we have now dropped down to 0 degrees tonight.
Dec 16: No sun today but no snow either with white overcast skies. Our low was 15 this morning and our high this afternoon was 22. Lake Superior has 1-2ft blue gray waves and a dark blue horizon.
Dec 15: Our low overnight was 2 below and our high today was 14. Lake Superior had 1ft blue gray waves from the SSW. The horizon was a dark blue with a dark blue cloud mass hovering over the lake as steam rose into it.
Dec 14: 4" of fresh snow fell overnight and this morning to add to the 2-3" that fell yesterday afternoon. It is really starting to look like Christmas. The cross country ski trails are in great shape. Lake Superior has 1ft blue gray waves from the SE with a gray horizon. Overhead, the snow is still falling lightly from the gray sky. After a high of 29 yesterday, temps dropped to 19 overnight.
Dec 13: Temps warmed overnight and we woke up to 20 degrees this morning. The skiesa are overcast and have the look of snow on its way. Lake Superior continues to have 3-4ft metallic gray waves from the SE against a dark blue horizon line.
Dec 12: Temps slowly warmed up overnight waking up to 8 degrees and warming to a high of 20 this afternoon. Lake Superior is a metallic blue gray with growing 3ft waves from the SE. We had a dusting of snow overnight and we are starting to see signs of the cloud mass over the lake dissipating.
Dec 11: Our low this morning was 8 below and our high this afternoon was 8 above. We had plenty of sun except for the dark cloud mass over the lake from the rising steam off the light blue gray surface. Lake Superior has 2-3ft waves from the south.
Dec 10: It is the coldest day of the season today. Our low was 0 degrees and our high was 6. Skies overhead are clear but the cold air over the lake has steam rising and forming a large cloud mass right over Lake Superior. An ore freighter passed by around 6pm, it came out of the clouds and steam and all of its running lights became visible.
Dec 9: Temps continued to fall overnight waking up to 8 degrees this morning and staying in single digits all day long. Snow started falling during the night and we woke up to 3" of fresh dry snow and strong winds. The snow ended around 1pm with a total of about 6" although it is difficult to know for sure with all the blowing. Lake Superior was a beautiful dark gray when you could see it. Several freighters passed by today and almost had a ghost ship feel to them as you could only partially see them through the snow.
Dec 8: It was a warm day today waking up to 34 followed by a high of 36 before beginning a steady decline in the late afternoon down into the mid 20's. There was a little sun, a lot of clouds with white overcast, and a grayish blue lake with small waves from the SSW.
. Dec 7: It was a beautiful early winter day with mostly sunny skies and a blue lake with 1-3ft waves from the SSW. Temperatures rose overnight. Our low this morning was 23 and our high is right now after dark with 31 degrees.
Dec 6: Our low today was 18 and our high was 24. The sun rose behind a cloud bank over the lake and backlit the clouds for a spectacular sunrise. Lake Superior today was mostly calm with small blue gray waves from the SSW. Once the cloud bank over the lake moved on, we had mostly sunny skies for the rest of the day.
Dec 5: Snow started coming down about 9am. It is light fluffy snow. The air is still and it is 26 after a morning low of 14. Skies are a light gray and matches the color of Lake Superior which has small waves from from the SE.
Dec 4: It was a beautiful early winter day here in Croftville. We woke up to 30 degrees and our high was 32 before slowly descending starting in the late afternoon. Skies were partly cloudy with partial sun. Lake Superior had 1-2ft blue green waves from the south. We watched 2 ore freighters pass by this afternoon.
Dec 3: We have partly cloudy skies today, some are white, some are dark gray. Our temperatures have swung from 26 this morning to 36 this afternoon. Air movement is light. Waves are 1-2ft silver blue waves from the SSW. I saw 3 ore freighters near Grand Marais yesterday when I went up to the Pincushion Mountain overlook to pick up our daughter from skiing.
Dec 2: It is sunny today with a white cloud bank on the horizon across the lake. It was also a little cooler this morning with a low of 15. However, temps are warming up quickly. Lake Superior has 1-2 ft blue waves with olive green shadows from the SSW.
Dec 1: December arrived with just a dusting of snow here in Grand Marais in spite of reports of 22" of snow falling in Duluth in the past 2 days. Our low this morning was 23 and our high today was 30. Lake Superior is still stratified with the chocolate colored water for the first 100 feet followed by the transluscent green band of water all the way to the horizon. The huge 4-5ft waves from the SE continue to churn up the water. We have seen multiple ore freighters pass by today some of which were only a mile or two from the shore. The huge pebble beach less than a mile from us on Croftville Road has once again been swallowed up by Lake Superior. I wonder when it will spit the pebble beach back up. It was gone most of this past summer and a storm early this fall brought it back until yesterday. Skies overhead are mostly blue but the horizon line is a dark murky blue suggesting the bad weather that passed through Duluth is now in northern Wisconsin and the UP.
November 2019
Nov 30: The waves were going crazy last night. We had 4-5ft waves pounding the shore from the SE. The waves settled down this morning and are only 2-3ft at noon. Lake Superior now has the chocolate milk band the first couple hundred yards from the shore from all the churning up the big waves did. After that, the lake is a transluscent aqua green all the way to the horizon. The sky is a winter looking gray overcast that you expect for snow but no snow has fallen here along the shore yet. That is in spite that the radar has been showing snow here all morning. Our low this morning was 26 and our temp right now at noon is 30.
Nov 29: Our high today was 35 after a low of 27 along the shore. No snow fell here today in Croftville in spite of wide spread snow over much of the rest of the state. In many ways, we are really our own climate up here along the North Shore. I traveled down to Two Harbors today and encountered 2 small lake ffect snow storms. Each lasted only for about a 10 mile stretch, everywhere else driving conditions were good but those 2 small storms reduced safe travel speeds down to less than 40mph. It is remakable to see how strong and yet isolated a lake effect squall can be.
Nov 28: Happy Thanksgiving Day! Our morning low was 21 and right now we are at 30 degrees. Skies overhead are lightly overcast and the air is still. Lake Superior is a greenish gray against a dark, dark blue horizon. It has 1ft waves from the SE on a very textured surface. This morning we saw 2 ore freighters pass by around sunrise and saw 2 other freighters all lit up on the lake during the night.
Nov 27: The snow started sometime in the early morning hours and came down until about 1pm. All tolled, we had about 4 inches of fresh dense dry snow when it ended. Everyone helped me with the shoveling and with 4 sets of hands we finished the entire resort in just over an hour. Our low was 21 and our high was 27. The strong winds had the snow moving more horizontal than vertical.
Nov 26: Temperatures steadily dropped throughout the day today in anticipation of a winter storm coming from the SW. Our temp this morning started at 37 and by 7pm we are now down to 30. The sky had sun and clouds today. We watched a large ore freighter pass by at midday. Lake Superor has just small waves from the south.
Nov 25: It pretty much rained lightly all day long. Most of our snow on the ground is now gone down here along the shore in Croftville. Our high was 44 and our low 36 today. Lake Superior is a greenish gray with just small waves today.
Nov 24: It was 37 this morning and our high so far is 44 degrees. Skies are mostly blue and sunny with a cloud bank passing by every few hours. Lake Superior is a greenish blue starting with 3-5ft waves this morning and dissipating through the day.
Nov 23: It was a beautiful melting day down on the Croftville Road next to Lake Superior. There were lots of people walking today on our road as the high got to 40 after a morning low of 28. Most of the snow and ice on the pavement melted away in the full sun and bright blue skies with just a few high thin clouds. Lake Superior thundered last night but was down to just 3-4ft greenish blue waves this morning from the south. By late afternoon they are back up to 4-5ft waves and thundering once again.
Nov 22: The air is still today. Our low was 20 and we are at 26 midday. It was a beautiful sunrise over Lake Superior. There were lots of pinks and purples as the sun peaked over the horizon and backlit the low hanging cumulus clouds over the lake. It is mostly cloudy today but the clouds are bright white with a few breaks of blue sky poking through. The little bit of sun feels warm after yesterday's heavily overcast skies. Last night we saw a couple ore freighters pass by all lit up. Lake Superior has 2-3ft greenish gray waves from the SSW against a dark blue horizon line.
Nov 21: Our high for today was at midnight earlier today and our low is likely to be at midnight tonight. The high was 35 and the low will be around 20 (it is 23 now at 9pm). With temperatures dropping below freezing at sunrise, the wet slushy snow that fell overnight along the shore began to freeze at daybreak. We had about 3" of very wet slush that became harder and harder to move as the temperatures dropped. Lake Superior was gray today with 2-3ft waves pounding the shore. The strong winds almost could knock you over this morning but subsided by late afternoon. Pincushion Ski Trails were groomed for the first time today.
Nov 20: It was unseasonably warm today with 41 as the high and 35 overnight. The air is again still and overcast. Lake Superior is gray with 1-2ft waves from the south. Rain began around 5pm and they are predicting heavy snow tonight. However, I think it is too warm here along the big lake for any snow. At 10pm, it is still 36 and rain.
Nov 19: Our high yesterday was 39 and our low overnight was 34. Conitions today remain the same. Currently, in mid afternoon, we have 38 and gray overcast skies with a slighty darker gray lake with a textured surface. The air is still.
Nov 18: We got home late last night. Temps dropped about 10 degrees from the mid 40's in Minneapolis to 33 from Duluth to Grand Marais. 33 is where it stayed all night and it doesn't look like it will vary much today either with 35 at noon. Skies overhead are a gray overcast and the air is still. Lake Superior is slightly darker gray with a rippled surface. The skies over the lake have a heavy cumulus cloud cover and you can see a little blue sky at the horizon.
Nov 17: Wow, we have 44 degrees this morning as we get ready to head north after yesterday's wedding. I don't think we will have the same balmy air as we approach the North Shore. I went for a long walk this morning and cold smell the odor of piles of fallen leaves slightly decaying. It has been many years since I have detected that familiar scent.
Nov 16: Temps in the 30's and 40's and traffic. I bet I spent over 2 hours in backed up traffic today and yesterday. That is something I will never have to do in Croftville. The wedding was at the University of Minnesota only 3 blocks from where I used to live 35-40 years ago. It is amazing what "beavers" we are changing our landscape. The names of the streets are the same but many have been altered or relocated. Only a handful of buildings are left from the time.
Nov 15: We traveled to Minnapolis today for the wedding of our niece tomorrow. It was 15 degrees as we left Grand Marais and temps gradually went up to 40 degrees when we got to Minneapolis. It feels good to be in above freezing temperatures for a couple days. Skies were clear and blue most of the way until Forest Lake when the skies became overcast. Lake Superior was blue with 2-3ft waves.
Nov 14: We have mostly blue skies with a few cumulus clouds and plentry of sun today. Lake Superior is a metallic blue with white hghlights and dark aqua green shadows. The waves are 2-3ft from the SSW. The air is still and warm. Our low this morning was 21 and we are slowly warming up in the sun.
Nov 13: Our first shovelable snow fell today. We had about 2" acccumulation this morning when it ended around 11am. Temps continues to rise overnight and we were at 24 degrees by morning with a high of 27 this afternoon. Waves on Lake Superior grew overnight to 3-4ft dark bluish gray waves from the south. Skies are a grayish white overcast from the snow.
Nov 12: It was 5 degrees this morning with a brisk wind from the north plunging windchills well below zero. Over the lake was the purplish blue cloud mass that forms during very cold spells as the water vapor rises from the big warm (at least by air standards) lake. Everywhere else the sky is mostly sunny. The sun is warming temps up nicely this afternoon and we just hit 20 at 3pm. It appears the unseasonably cold temps are on their way out. Lake Superior has sky blue 2ft waves with navy shadows from the south.
Nov 11: It was 5 degrees this morning, yet another in a long line of coldest temps of the season. By early afternoon it had climbed to 14 but began falling once again after 2pm. We are now down to 9 degrees. The lake was smooth with 1ft gray roller waves coming in to shore against a mostly gray sky. We have seen multiple frieghters passing by both last night and during the day today. Last night we had clear skies and an alomst full moon lighting up outside. By morning we still had clear skies overhead, but the dark metallic blue cloud mass over the lake had formed from the very cold temps.
Nov 10: The high for today was when we got up this morning at 22. Temps slowly dropped throughout the day and is now down to 13 (our coldest temp of the season) before I head to bed. There were many ore freighters passing by today marking the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The north wind blew all day long, if your face was exposed in that direction it was mighty cold even when the wind was gentle. Skies were mostly overcast and the big lake had 2-3ft gray waves braking as they got close to shore.
Nov 9: A dusting of snow fell last night and temperatures rose. We were up to 30 degrees by daylight and our high for the day was 34. Lake Superior was a medium gray against a slightly lighter gray in the overcast skies. The surface of the lake was smooth with 2ft roller waves from the SSE breaking just before hitting the shore. Light flurries continued all day long but still only left a dusting of snow on the surface. In spite of this, the snow plow crews were out "practicing" with their equipment.
Nov 8: It was another chilly morning with 15 degrees and light gray overcast and cloudy skies. To the south there are breaks in the clouds with a little blue and a little sun popping through. At the horizon it is dark blue suggesting bad weather in northern Wisconsin. Lake Superior this morning is a silver gray with 1-2ft waves from the SSW. The air is almost still but with the temperatures so cold it doesn't take much of a breeze to really feel it on your face and body.
Nov 7: The lake is still and light gray against a slightly lighter gray overcast sky. There is a light breeze that gusts at times and whistles through our double hung windows. Without the sun and the leaves, the boreal forest almost looks bleak and wintery. Our low concurs with a temp of 18 and a noontime temperature of only 23.
Nov 6: Our low this morning was 16 degrees here by the lake, once again the coldest morning of the season. Our afternoon high was 28. We had mostly sunny skies with light winds. Lake Superior had 1-3ft waves from the south. The surface was a blusih black except where the refections from the sun were blinding white.
Nov 5: We had a dusting of snow coming down last night around 9pm and it has stayed with us today. Our overnight low was 21 and we are slowly warming up this morning but do not expect to see 30 degrees today. 21 is certanly our coldest morning this season. Skies are partly cloudy with sun and white cumulus clouds. Snow flurries are falling. Lake Superior is a light silver blue with 2-3ft waves from the SSW. The horizon is a dark purplish blue, something must be happening in northern Wisconsin. During the night I saw 2 ore freighters all lit up pass by.
Nov 4: It was a gorgeous morning with a low of 32 degrees but the temperatures shot up quickly to our high of 41. There were blue skies and sun and it alsmot felt balmy out. However, in the distance we could see the dark clouds of a cold front coming our way. By the the time they reached us in the early afternoon our temps began to slowly drop. The clouds were a purplish blue, the color of winter clouds that we have not seen since last spring.
Nov 3: What a beautiful late fall day. Lake Superior was a metallic blue with 1-2ft waves from the south. The sunlight reflections off the waves were blinding. Our low was 32 and our high was 40. It was a great day to be outside and about in the boreal forest.
Nov 2: Our low this morning was 33 and our high was 39. The skies were cloudy but occasionally you could see sunlight alsmost coming through the breaks in the clouds lighting up spots our on the gray Lake Superior. We had a gray lake with 1-2ft waves from the south and a breeze that picked up in the afternoon.
Nov 1: November arrives with a low of 27 and a high of 38. Snow flurries were coming down in the afternoon and melting on contact. No sign of any sun today with a medium gray overcast that did not loosen its grasp. Lake Superior was a monochrome gray with just small roller waves.
October 2019
Oct 31: Our low this morning was 25 here by the lake. It doesn't feel like fall anymore. It looks like our afternoon high was 33. The air is still, the lake is still, and the sky and the lake are gray. I am still hoping to pour to concrete step footings but I may be too late, we will hope for 40 degree days this weekend otherwise they might have to wait intil spring.
Oct 30: Our low this morning was 28 and our high for the day only mustered 33 degrees. There is a sense of winter in the air. The sun and blue skies are slowly evolving into a light gray overcast as the day goes on. Lake Superior is mostly calm with small waves from the south.
Oct 29: It was the coldest morning of the fall at 28 degrees here alongside Lake Superior. There are clear blue skies and a crisp metallic blue lake against a white horizon line. The waves are 1-2ft from the SSW. The air is still and the sun is quickly warming the air.
Oct 28: It is 32 this morning, the air is calm, and cloud cover is approaching us from the south across the lake. They say the cold is here to stay for this week. Lake Superior has 2ft smooth gray roller waves from the south.
Oct 27: Our high yesterday was 53 and it was surprisingly warm this morning at 42 degrees. However, as the brisk winds brought the cold front past us, the temperatures stayed stagnant most of the day until they began to drop later in the day. Lake Superior had 3-4ft metallic blue and black waves from the south. The winds of the past few days have stripped the trees bare of their fall foliage.
Oct 26: We have clear blue skies everywhere in the sky this morning. The horizon line is crisp and white. Lake Superior has 3ft metallic blue waves from the south with a few whitecaps and dark olive shadows. The wind is strong and our temp is 46 at 11am after a morning low of 40. They say we may make it into the low 50's today and we might not see 50 again for the duration of the coming winter.
Oct 25: Our low was 30 degrees and our high 48 today. It was mostly sunny with cumulus clouds and a strong wind. To our south the clouds were darker and more dense suggesting overcast skies and rain in northern Wisconsin.Lake Superior was a metallic blue with silver highlights on the crests of the 3ft waves and almost black shadows.
Oct 24: It was the coldest morning of the season so far down here next to the lake in Croftville with 34 degrees and a thin later of icy frost on the cars. We have partly cloudy skies with plenty of blue and small cumulus cottonballs dotting the sky. The horizon has a thin band of sky blue beneath a thin bank of white clouds just above the grayish blue water. Lake Superior closer to the shore is a pale blue with navy shadows on its 1-2ft waves from the SSW.
Oct 23: Our low was 41 and our high was 46 today. That sounds pretty chilly, but it was quite a nice fall day for being active outside. If you sat still, the wind would chill you to the bone in spite of the ample sun. My grandpa would have been 115 today. He always said he wanted to live to be 120 years old, he did pretty well, he made it to 90 and was still climbing up ladders at 88. It's been a few years since I last had a conversation with him in my dreams, I miss that. Lake Superior was a steel blue today with mostly sunny skies overhead and 2-3ft waves. I saw a freighter around sunset heading away from us. It almost looked like it was floating above the lake with white exhaust climbing into the sky.
Oct 22: The rain has quit, the skies are a dark gray overcast, our low this morning is a balmy 47, and we have 3-5ft waves from the south churning up the waters of Superior. The calm air feels almost too quiet after the raging winds of last night's storm.
Oct 21: What a storm we had that passed through tonight. The waves threw rocks and wood debris up onto Croftville Road in places. In by the coast guard house waves from East Bay hurled rocks completely covering the parking lot. The municipal parking lot filled with water down by the food coop. The rain started around 3pm with the brunt of the storm having water coming down in sheets from abouot 5-9pm. Our low was 43 and our high 51.
Oct 20: It is a beautiful late fall day with just a few wisps of clouds in the blue sunny sky. Lake Superior is almost black against the blinding reflection of the sun off the lake. We have 1-2ft waves from the south. Our low this morning was a surprisingly low 40 degrees because it felt much warmer. Maybe that was because the air is so still. I love this time of year when about 3/4 of the leaves have fallen. You still have plenty of color but you can look far into the forest without all the leaves. We are already at 54 degrees at 1pm which is probably close to what will be our high today.
Oct 19: The beautiful weather couln't last considering how wet our fall has been overall. The sun disapperaed shortly after daybreak as light gray overcast skies and a light continual rain moved in. Lake Superior is a colorless gray blending with just a faint line into a slightly lighter gray sky. Waves are 1-2ft from the south. Our low this morning was 46 and it looks like our high will just barely make 50.
Oct 18: It was a beautiful late fall day. Our low was 38 and our high was 52 along the lake. Lake Superior had 2-3ft metallic blue waves from the SE with silver highlights reflecting the sun off the lake surface.
Oct 17: We had a low of 36 and a high of 51 today with mostly sunny skies. Lake Superior was a metallic blue with dark navy shadows and 1-2ft waves. It was a spectacular late fall day.
Oct 16: This morning our low was 39 and our high was 49. It was cold but comfortable if you were active outdoors. No rain but no sun. However, it was only lightly overcast. Lake Superior was bluish gray in color witha little green in the shadows.
Oct 15: We had a low of 39 and a high of 45 today. It was wet and cold and overcast. No heavy rain but the kind of rain where it drizzles you to death. Lake Superior was gray with a white horizon suggesting we had a bit better weather to the south.
Oct 14: There was heavy frost on the roofs last night. It took until 9am for the frost to disappear. Our low was 31 and we finally hit 40 degrees at 11am. We have overcast skies with a lighter skies and maybe even some sun at the horizon to the south. Lake Superior is gray with 1-2ft waves from the SSW. The wind and rain deposited a lot of fall foliage onto the boreal forest floor. I would say that we are now past peak color here along the shore but there is still a lot of fall colore left.
Oct 13: It was a cold day today. Temps were in the low 30's this morning and only made it to the mid 40's for our high. The winds finally ceased during the night and the enormous waves on Lake Superior have begun to subside. The waves managed to devour a set of a neighbor's steps down to the beach into kindling. Another neighbor regained their cobblestone beach that has been gone since a storm last spring. The water reached places on our shoreline I have never seen before.
Oct 12: After a high of 58 at 9am yesterday, the temps dropped continually to this morning's low of 39. High gales from the SE started yesterday afternoon and generated huge waves on Lake Superior and the wind howled through our double hung windows even after they were latched. At one point our double french doors blew open, we had forgot to latch the astragal sometime last summer or spring. The dark gray waves this morning are 5-6ft and coming straight in from the SSE. You could see the whitecaps far out on the lake even in the dark of the night. The wind has stripped about half of our leaves. But, we have it pretty good compared with the snow the other parts of Minnesota has received.
Oct 11: It was a warm night with a low of only 55 last night after a high of 59 yesterday. The cloud front and rain that moved in last night around dusk no doubt helped to keep the temperatures high by holding in the heat. This morning we have dark overcast skies and I can see that the rain and wind from last night have removed some of the beautiful golden leaves on the birch and aspen trees. Lake Superior is a dark, dark gray with 2-3ft waves from the SE. It is remarkable that the skies have become even darker while I have been writing this entry.
Oct 10: Our low this morning was 40 after a high yesterday afternoon of 63 degrees. The sun has been replaced with heavily clouded skies today. Lake Superior has silver gray 1-2ft waves with black shadows from the SE. The horizon is a medium blue and you can see a couple shining bands on the lake indicating sun gettin through the cloud cover.
Oct 9: It looks like a repaet of yesterday with clear blue skies, lots of sun, a metallic blue Lake Superior, and gold leaves lit up by the sun. Our low this morning was 40 and we have 1-2ft textured waves from the south.
Oct 8: The sun was out and it lit up the gold leaves on the birch and aspen up and down the North Shore today. The birght gold of the leaves almost made the needles of the balsam fir and spruce look black against them. We drove down the shore to Beaver Bay and the drive was amazing with the colors of the boreal forest and the deep blue Lake Superior. Our high today was 61 after a morning low of 40.
Oct 7: We have partly cloudy skies today with high thin clouds. It looks like we will be in the upper 50's or low 60's for out high. Lake Superior has toned down today with 1-2ft waves from the south breaking on the shore. Close in the water has a transluscent greenish tint to it but as you look further out it takes on a purplish gray against silver reflections of the sunlight.
Oct 6: Our high today was a warm 59 degrees today. The real story of the day were the waves. They buffeted the shore with an intesity an sound that was both scary and deafening. We had 3-5ft waves from the SSW that covered or showered rocks that are usually left high and dry. The other bit of news is that we had some sun and we had amazing fall colors but they took a distant bach seat to today's waves.
Oct 5: It was 37 again last night beside Lake Superior. The wind whistled through our still unlatched windows and the rain held off until around 8am. Lake Superior has rough 3-4ft gray waves from the SE and their breaking sounds can be heard no matter where you are. I saw 2 ships pass by during the night. As the fall weather deteriates on Gitche Gumi we see the ore freighters passing regularly by our shore.
Oct 4: Our low was 37 down by the lake this morning. It is the coldest day yet of the fall and we only mustered a high of 49. The sun snuck out once in a while against an overcast and cloudy sky. It was windy today and we are probably now in peak colors along the Lake Superior shore. Lake Superior was a bluish gray with 2-3ft roller waves from the SE.
Oct 3: The rain started overnight and today looks like a day of cold gentle rain. The skies are a gray overcast. Lake Superior has 1-3ft gray roller waves from the SE with a more brownish bad of water close to shore. Our low overnight was 42 and at noon we have only warmed up to 46. The colors are amazing right now, we are hoping for some sun to highlight their beauty.
Oct 2: There was a blackish blue band across the lake today most of the day. I feel bad for the people in the UP, northern Wisconsin, and central Minnesota that had to live through that weather. Up here, we had mostly a overcast and cloudy day with a little sun peeking out at times. There was a powerful wind that picked up the grayish green waves on Superior to 2-3ft. Our low was 42 and our high got to 62 but it felt colder with the wind.
Oct 1: October arrives with a low of 51, lightly overcast skies, and a bleak gray Lake Superior with small waves against a light blue horizon line. September wnet out with a thunder storm lighting up the sky. The winds of the past days have stripped some of the trees of thheir leaves but overall, I think our fall foliage down here by the shore is near peak color. It would be fun to have some sun come out to light those colors up.
September 2019
Sep 30: Overcast skies, rain, mist, and fog finally ending with a pounding rainstorm after dark. That is how September is ending here in Croftville. Our low this mornign was 49 and our high today was 59. Lake Superior is gray with 2-3ft waves from the SE. Somtimes the horizon was light indicating temporarily good weather to the south, other times the horizon was almost black indicating bad weather to the south as the storm fronts moved past.
Sep 29: It was 42 this morning with an amazing red sunrise. Lake Superior has 2-4ft waves from the SE pounding the shore and the skies after sunrise are now completely overcast. There is a strong wind also from the SE that has stripped a lot of leaves off of trees. It feels like a late fall day today.
Sep 28: We had a low of 46 and an afternoon high of 61 today. I think we may have seen the last of 70 degree days here along the lake with September rapidly coming to a close. We had a mixture of sun and overcast today but the stars were fabulous last night and they are fabulous again tonight. It is windy and cool. We are sitting next to a fire on our porch to enjoy the lake and I can see 3 campires out on our grounds as well.
Sep 27: Our low was 52 last night after a high yesterday that finally climbed late in the day to 62. We woke up today finding that it rained fairly heavy overnight judging by the puddles it left behind. The skies are overcast this morning and Lake Superior's shore was being pounded by 2-3ft steel gray waves from the south. There is a dark band near the horizon suggesting wet weather in northern Wisconsin and the UP. I hear from guests that the narrow band of maple trees that runs inland a couple miles from the shore are now past peak color. Here along the shore with our birch, aspen, mountain ash and moose maplea we are just approaching peak colors.
Sep 26: We had a chilly 46 last night next to the shore. With blue skies and sun it has warmed up nicely into the upper 50's by the afternoon.Lake Superior is a steel blue with blinding silver highights relfecting off the crests of the 2-3ft waves from the south. There is a gentle wind which makes you feel cool unless you are standing in the sun.
Sep 25: After a high of 62 yesterday afternoon a heavy rain storm settled in for the evening hours in Grand Marais. Our low this morning was 55 and we woke to clouded skies that became partly cloudy with huge cumulus clouds dotting the blue sky. Lake Superior this morning has 1-2ft gray and navy waves from the south. The reflection of the sun off the wave crests is blinding.
Sep 24: It is another beautiful fall day here on the Croftville Road. Our low this mornign was a crisp 46 but the sun is out with clear blue skies and the air is warming up quickly. Lake Superior is calm with just ripples on its sky blue surface. The only thing out there that is unpredictable is the purplish band of fog hovering just over the surfac of the lake. It has been moving our way but I think it will burn off before it reaches us.
Sep 23: With the equinox happening in the early hours this morning, happy first official day of fall. It was and amazing day with mostly sunny blue skies and a high of 66 degrees. We drove to Duluth for shopping and were amazed how close to peak colors the North Shore is. What a beautiful drive.
Sep 22: We had a warm night last night with a low of 56 after a high yesterday of 69. It was a humid day with lots of overcast, fog, and intermittent rain. However, the clouds thinned and the fog lifted enough to let a little sunlight through for the first wedding to be performed at Croftville Road Cottages right beside Lake Superior. Congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple. This morning we have mostly cloudy skies with alittle blue poking through in places. Lake Superior is gray against a blue horizon with 2-3ft waves coming straight in from the SSE.
Sep 21: I could see the sun behind a thin veil of overcast as it rose this morning but the overcast skies continue to thicken and it is darker at 11am than it was at sunrise. Lake Superior has 1-2ft bluish gray waves from the SE. It is a bit lighter on the horizon than overhead. Unfortnately, the weather in that direction is not a foreshadowing of what is to come but a remnant of what has already passed us by. Looks liek rain is on the way. We have 64 on Lake Superior at 11am.
Sep 20: Our low was once again a warm 56 for this time of year and our high was 69. Teresa told me all day how hot and humid it was outside. This should give all of you reading this diary just how intolerant we on the North Shore are to heat and humidity. We are complaining that 69 degrees is too hot. We started the day with mostly sunny skies and small blue waves on the lake. By mid afternoon we could start to see fog forming and descending on us and the skies became overcast. Lake Superior became gray and calm.
Sep 19: We have partly sunny skies today with high wispy clouds against the blue skies. Our low last night was a balmy 56 for this time of the year and we slept with our windows wide open. Some of the balsam aspens near the shore have started to shed some of their brown leaves. The balsam aspens seldom get much color and often are the first to have their leaves brown, curl up, and fall off. We can see more golds, oranges, and reds in the forest with each passing day. Lake Superior is a dark gray with almost black shadows and sparkling and flashing highlights as the sun reflects off the small wave crests from the south.
Sep 18: We have dark overcast skies this morning. Lake Superior has 2ft roller gray waves from the SE that break as they approach the shore. I can see the horizon but it is dark outside even though it should be daylight already. The oranges, golds, and reds are more visible every day in the fall foliage. Our low this morning is 59 degrees allowng us to sleep with the windows open.
Sep 17: It felt like rain most of the day but it was 3pm before the skies opened up and let it come down. It rained hard for about 3 hours. Our low for the day was at midnight with 56 degrees and it has slowly and steadily rose through the day. Our high so far is 64 degrees at 9:30pm. Lake Superior had 1-2ft gray waves from the SE. There was no horizon line today. There was a small region I recognized as the lake and up high enough I could recognize it was sky. However, the large region inbetween I had no clue be it land or sky. The Moose and Sugar Maple are getting pretty close to full fall color.
Sep 16: The lake became still and silent last night. It was so quiet that we couldn't sleep. At the same time the fog formed and has hung on all day with the first small break in the fog at 3:30pm when skies became cloudy and we could see a fuzzy horizon for the first time today. Our low this morning was 54 and our afternoon high is so far 61. We now have a breeze which is what finally broke up the dense fog. Lake Superior 1ft gray waves from the SE. As I write, the horizon line just disappeared and the fog is descending on us again.
Sep 15: We woke up to the full moon setting in the west as the sun was rising in the east. However, shortly after that our partly cloudy skies changed to a white overcast which is persisting well into the afternoon. Our low this morning was 52 and our temp right now at 2pm is 60. Lake Superior is a silvery gray with a textured surface and 1-2frt waves from the SE.
Sept 14: After a high of 58 yesterday and rain and mist not ending until 7pm, we finally have the sun out and blue sky after so many days of clouds and overcast. Our low this morning was 47 and we are to 58 at noon. But in spite of the cool temps, the sun feels so good. Lake Superior is a steel blue with silver highlights with 2-3ft waves from the SSW.
Sept 13: It warmed up overnight and was 54 when I got up. Skies are heavily overcast and there are puddles everywhere from last night's storms. The air is still with a light rain coming down. Lake Superior has settled down a little, too. The lake has 2-3ft waves from the SE. The lake has 2 horizontal bands, a brownish dirty band for about a quarter mile and then a silver gray band past that.
Sept 12: It was a windy day along Lake Superior that ended in a heavy rainstorm as the sun went down. The strong winds built 4-5ft waves on the big lake, the largest I have seen in several months. You could hear the large rocks being moved around by the waves from the SE. The waves also churned up sediment on the lake bed causing a chocolate milk band of water for the first 50 yards along the shore followed by the bluish gray band dotted with whitcaps out to the horizon. Our low this morning was 50 degrees and our high this afternoon was 53.
Sept 11: It is so good to be home in Croftville. We had such a great time at the wedding reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. However, the time away from Grand Marais made me also appreciate how our heart and soul reside here on the North Shore. Today is rainy and overcast just as it was last night when we got home. Lake Superior is a silver gray with a textured surface and 2ft waves from the ESE. The boreal forest now has a distinctively gold and orange tint to its overall green. The bright colors of fall are on their way.
Sept 10: We have 505 miles to Lake Superior and 625 miles to Croftville Road Cottages for today. Yesterday we drove though rain all day long in Montana and North Dakota. Our son tells us that it was cloudy all day in Croftville and they had a major thunderstorm in the early evening that interupted power for about an hour.
Sept 9: After a long walk along the river running through Boise, we said goodbye to our newlyweds and pointed the van back toward Minnesota. We drove through the Crater of the Moon National Monument yesterday looking at the lava beds. Rain traveled with us all day long, I hope that system does not follow us all the way to Lake Superior. We are in Montana this morning and will be traveling along the Yellowstone River most of the day with its beautiful cottonwoods and willows lining the banks.
Sept 8: The weather has changed here in Boise from summer to fall. The temps have dropped 20 degrees and we have rain as we send off our friends on their honeymoon and turn toward Lake Superior.
Sept 7: We made it to Boise, Idaho last night and although we did not get to sleep to the sounds of Lake Superior, we did not need to listen to the sounds of the interstate. We had a great time celebrating with our night owl friends and look forward to today's wedding. Boise has a bike path along the river which was fun walking on giving us the sense of being with nature while walking in a city.
Sept 6: We are still on the road to Boise, Idaho and stayed in Billings, Montana last night. With luck, we will be at the rehersal dinner tonight. I was struck watching the landscape go from rolling farmland in Fergus Falls, to flat plains farmland near Fargo, to a farmland and pasture mix in western North Dakota, to completely pasture lands in Montana except along the irrigated Yellowstone River. It was another night of listening to the interstate rather than Lake Superior from our bed. I will let you guess which one I prefer.
Sept 5: We are on the road to Boise, Idaho but have not made it out of Minnesota, yet. It was funny to wake up to the sounds of an interstate rather than Lake Superior. As we drove across Minnesota on Highway 210 from Black Bar Casino to Fergus Falls, it was interesting to watch as the landscape of the boreal forest dsappeared and was replaced by hardwood forests and farmland.
Sept 4: Yikes! 44 degrees last night which is the coldest morning I bet since May down here next to the shore. There is a freighter passing by this morning which is another sign of fall when the ore freighters begin to routinely use the more northern route across Lake Superior. We have clear blue skies after so many days of rain. Lake Superior is a dark metallic blue with dark olive shadows and 2ft waves from the south. There is a crisp white horizon. We are heading to Boise, Idaho for a wedding this weekend and leave our resort in the capable hands of our Inn Sitter, Janelle, and our son, Joey. It will be funny to be away from Lake Superior for 6 days. The last time we were gone that long was in 2010 to visit our daughter in Phoenix 9 and a half years ago.
Sept 3: Our low this morning was 50 and our afternoon high was only 60. There were strong winds from the east off the lake which has helped churn the big lake up. We had just about every form of rain today including an intense downpour this morning. The sun peaked out a little in the late afternoon along with a double rainbow.
Sept 2: Our low this morning was 50 after a high yesterday afternoon of 64. We have mixed skies this morning. There is a little blue, there is some overcast, there are some white clouds, and there are some ominous black clouds. We did have scattered rains overnight. Lake Superior is a silver gray this morning and mostly calm with an almost undistinguishable horizon line to the south.
Sept 1: September arrives with mostly cloudy skies, a little bit of sun, aftenoon temps in the low 60's and a morning low along the lake of 50 degrees. It may still be summer in southern Minnesota. We still may have warm days and warm nights ahead here in Cook County, but the season has changed to fall by almost every indication here in Grand Marais. Lake Superior is almost silver and mostly calm with an indistinct horizon line.
August 2019
Aug 31: With an overnight low of 51 and a high yesterday of 72 it looks like it will be a beautiful day down on Croftville Road with high cirrus clouds spread out across a blue sky. Lake Superior is a pale blue with only small waves from the south brushing against the rocks. The air is still. Each day I see another sign that fall is coming. Yesterday I noticed the mountain ash berries are really filling out and turning orange instead of the small greenish red immature berries that I have seen up to now.
Aug 30: It is sunny with clear blue skis today. Lake Superior is a deep blue with dark green green shadows and 1-2ft waves from the south. We have a crisp robin's egg blue horizon line. Each day I can now notice more signs that summer is quickly coming to and end. The greens are starting to show signs of gold and orange in them. The sun feels so good on the skin. Currently we are at 63 degrees at noon.
Aug 29: Our high yesterday we 68 and our low this morning was 49 in Croftville. Rain began overnight and rained quite hard until it ended around 10am. Skies are still heavily overcast. Lake Superior has 2ft gray with a hint of blue roller waves coming straight in from the SSE. The horizon line has a band of white suggesting better weather in northern Wisconsin.
Aug 28: It is mostly cloudy today with occasional patches of blue. It rained overnight and there are some sprinkles this morning. Lake Superior is a dark gray with 2-3ft roller waves on a textured surface from the SSW. The horizon line is a dark blue indicating bad weather across the lake. Our morning low was 51 and at 1pm we just made it to 60 degrees. There is a brisk stormy wind swirling about.
Aug 27: I am not sure whether leaves and grasses have started to change in just 2 days time or whether the difference between Grand Marais and the Twin Cities is so stark. It is probably the latter where the Twin Cities is in summer green but Grand Marais has started to show small signs of fall. Anyway, our excursion to the State Fair found us coming back to the North Shore today. It never ceases to amaze me how I can breathe easier as I go over Thompson Hill and view Lake Superior on the horizon with Duluth sitting in the foreground. Our high today was 73 and our low was 60 with partle cloudy skies with big cumulus clouds that dropped rain between bouts of sun and blue skies.
Aug 26: Today we were at the Minnesota State Fair. It was ovecast in the morning, rained solid all afternoon, and became partly cloudy with sun as we left the fair around 5pm. The rain wasn't pleasant but we had a fun day with family, food, and rides anyway. Teresa celebrated her birthday and we look forward to getting back to Grand Marais tomorrow. We always visit the Fine Arts building at the fair and there are always paintings of Grand Marais and the Boundary Waters there. Today, there was a painting of the Phillips Cabin about 400 yards down Croftville Road from our resort. I saw it and said I know that cabin, it is just down the road from our resort, Croftville Road Cottages, in Grand Marais. No one believed me until they looked at the title of the painting, "Croftville Cabin".
Aug 25: Lake Superior has 2-3ft roller waves from the south that break and crash against the rocks. The lake is a metallic steel blue with dark navy shadows and a crisp robin egg blue horizon. Overhead, we have partly cloudy skies with big cumulus clouds. Our low this morning was 56 degrees and temps are rising steadily. We have 6 cottages to clean and when we are finished, it is off to Saint Paul to go to the Minnesota State Fair for a day away.
Aug 24: It is warmer this morning with 56 degrees. There are clear blue skies overhead and a breeze from the west. Lake Superior is a deep metallic blue with 1-2ft waves from the SE. We have a crisp white horizon line.
Aug 23: Brrr. The overnight low along the lake was 48 this morning. This was certainly the coldest morning we have had for the lasr couple months. It is just another sign that fall is getting close and summer is beginning to wane. We warmed up nicely, though, with a high of 75 in the mostly sunny skies. It is campfire season and all 3 of our cottages have fires out in front of them tonight. Lake Superior has 1-2ft waves from the SE.
Aug 22: Lake Superior only had ripples on the surface this morning which I think were what was left from the wakes of fishing boats passing by. The lake was a faint blue with lightly overcast skies. We briefly had some sprinkles on the cold day. Our morning low was 57 and our afternoon high just made it to 70 briefly before cooling off quickly. The red osier dogwood now have their little white berries on them.
Aug 21: Today in Croftville our morning low was 57 and our high was 78. We have partly cloudy skies with plenty of sun. Lake Superior is a faint blue except for a dark blue narrow band below the horizon. The lake has small waves from the SE as the lake calmed down during the night.
Aug 20: It is a tale of two days. This morning we had 2-3ft waves from the south with heavily overcast skies and rain heavy at times. Around 1pm the rain stopped, the skies cleared, and waves diminshed to 1-2ft. Our morning low was 57 and we were barely at 60 at noon but the sun has now warmed things up and we are sitting at 74 degrees at 5pm with a pleasant breeze from the north.
Aug 19: It was 57 this morning with a gentle breeze off the hill. Croftville is sunny with blue skies and a gibbous moon that has not yet set in the west. Lake Superior is a dark rich blue against a pale blue and crisp horizon. There are 2-3ft waves from the south bashing the rocks as they break against the shore.
Aug 18: It appears to be a rainy day all day long today. The light rain began around 6am and we woke to overcast skies, a gray textured Lake Superior and 2-3ft waves from the SE. The air is still and our overnight low was 60.
Aug 17: Fog. That's really all that needs to be said about today. The fog rolled in before sunrise and rolled out only partially around 7pm. The rest of the day Lake Superior was just a big white wall with sounds of 1-2ft waves breaking on the shore. Most of the day was muggy and in the low to mid 60's. Our temperature spiked at 7pm when the fog rolled back a ways on the lake and the sun came out briefly to hit 76 degrees.
Aug 16: The full moon peaked out a couple times last night from behind the clouds. Today we had overcast skies that showed some sun late in the afternoon. Lake Superior is a blusih gray with 1-2ft waves coming in straight from the SSE. Out low was 54 and our high 74. It is surprisingly muggy by North Shore standards of humidity.
Aug 15: The almost full moon last night lit up the sky and backlit the cloud formations across the lake last night. Temps by the shore got down to 54 degrees but I heard there were temps in the low 40's inland. We have now reached the point in the year where Lake Superior has now warmed up enough to keep us warmer at night where in the earlier summer the lake would keep us cooler than inland. Today we have mostly sunny skies, temps in the 70's, and a Lake Superior with 1ft light blue waves from the SSE.
Aug 14: I was hiking the Pichushion Ski Trails this morning while my daughter was at Cross Country practice. It is a beautiful lightly overcast summer morning with a heavy dew on the tall grass soaking my shoes and socks as I hiked. On the Ole Hyva Loop I saw a bright gold birch in peak fall color form among the green boreal forest. Fall is just around the corner. It was 56 this morning and you can start to taste a hint of fall inthe air. Lake Superior is a textured gray today with 1-2ft waves from the SE against a baby blue horizon line.
Aug 13: We are mostly cloudy this morning with high cirrus clouds. There is a heavy dew and we also had rain during the night. Lake Superior only has ripples on its surface and you need to be down on the shore to hear those gentle ripples brushing against the rocks. Our low was 57 this morning after. a high of 77 yesterday.
Aug 12: Gitche Gumi is faint blue glass today. It's still surface blends almost seamlessly against the cloudy skies. The air is still as well. We are at 67 degrees at 1pm after a high yesterday of 78 and a low this morning of 57.
Aug 11: It is a cloudy and overcast morning here on Croftville Road. Lake Superior has a shiny silver surface with 1ft waves from the SSW. Overnight the big lake was silent and still. Our morning low was 58 but even with the overcast skies we are already to 66. The breeze off the lake last night felt so good for sleeping.
Aug 10: We had a high of 75 today on a beautiful Lake Superior shoreline summer day. There were partly cloudy skies and 1-3ft waves from the south that broke before getting to shore. We have a group of young foxes running about Croftville Road. I think it was their mother that got killed on the highway a couple weeks ago so now the playful group is running around without any supervision.
Aug 9: Croftville has partly cloudy skies, a moderate wind from the west, and temperatures hovering right around 70 degrees today. The Big Lake has 1-2ft waves from the south and is a metal gray against faint blue horizon. Our morning low was 57.
Aug 8: The wind blew from early this mornng to twilight. The result was 2-3ft waves from the south by dark. We had lots of sun today with a few bouts of clouds. A rainstorm missed us around 7pm but it left an amazing rainbow over Lake Superior. We watched a "swarm" of hummingbirds continue to assault the feeder on our covered porch. I have never seen a group of hummingbirds of up to 8 all competing for the same feeder until a few weeks ago. Our low this morning was 54 and our high was 78
Aug 7: Rain kept coming and going during the night with stars inbetween the bouts of rain. Today is the same thing with bouts of rain with sun inbetween. Our low this morning was a warm 63 and our high so far in midafternoon is 66. It is cool but it is also muggy out with all the moisture. Lake Superior has 1ft waves from the south. It's color alternates from gray to blue as the rain fronts pass through.
Aug 6: It was a piture perfect day here along the lake in Croftville. Our low was 61 and our high 77. We had mostly sunny skies all day, a blue lake with 2ft roller waves from the south, and a crisp clear white horizon. There was a gentle breeze which made even 77 fell comfortable.
Aug 5: It is a rainy overcast day in Grand Marais today. At times you can see the horizon but at other times it is obscured by rain and fog. The lake is a light blue gray and calm. I saw my first algea bloom on the lake yesterday. That means Lake Superior is finally beginning to warm up at least in shallow waters that are relatively undisturbed because of the calmness of Lake Superior overall during the last month. Our low htis morning was 59 and a 3pm we are at 67.
Aug 4: It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon to wind up activities for Fishermens Picnic here in Grand Marais. Overnight we had 59 and at parade time (2pm) we are up to 69 degrees. There are blue skies with a little haze. Lake Superior is striped with horizontal bands of differeing shades of blue with calm water.
Aug 3: Our low this morning was 58 after a high yesterday of 78. This morning we had the strongest rainstorm I have seen here by the lake for several years. It was shortlived (less than an hour) but intense complete with thunder, lightning, and rain coming down in sheets. After the storm moved out over the lake we have slowly been returning to clear skies. With all the water that came down, there is now much mositure in the air. At 4pm we are at 70 degrees and hazy skies that allow enough sun through to create shadows. Lake Superior has calmed down after the storm and is almost white with just a hint of blue. No visible horizon line, of course.
Aug 2: It was a little warmer last night with an overnight low of 61. We have partly cloudy skies and temperatures are expected to make it into the upper 70's. There is a cool gentle wind off the lake. If that sticks around, we won't see that predicted high. Lake Superior is mostly calm and pale blue against an almost white but fuzzy horizon.
Aug 1: Our high was 75 today and our low was 54 here in Croftville. We had a little of everything today weather-wise. There was sun, there was overcast, there was fog, and there was rain. Lake Superior was still with the small swells brushing against the rocks. Lake Superior was also hazy. We never did clearly see the horizon line today. We could hear boats on the lake but sometimes could not see them. We could get an idea how far away they were by how long it took their wake to reach the rocks on the shore.
July 2019
Jul 31: July ends today on the cool side. Our morning low down by the lake was 54 and temps are slowly rising in spite of mostly clear blue skies. Our high yesterday was only 70 degrees and today should be about the same. It is great weather for those who have come north to get away from heat and humidity. Lake Superior calmed down overnight and this morning is still and a hazy pale blue.
Jul 30: It got cool overnight down to 53 this morning. We have mostly clear blue skies with a few small puffs of clouds dotting the sky. Lake Superior is a deep blue with 1ft waves from the SSW. There is a faint blue horizontal band a little below the horizon line and a narrow dark purplish blue band touching the horizon. There is a gentle breeze ruffling the quaking aspen leaves.
Jul 29: After a low of 59 our high this afternoon was 79. A strong breeze picked up in the late morning which made what I think of as hot (yes, we are big wimps on the North Shore) comfortable. It rained all night long last night stopping around 5am but the wind dried thngs out nicely. Lake Superior has 1-2ft blue waves with navy shadows from the SSW.
Jul 28: The Big Lake is calm and a pale sky blue under a deeper clear blue sky. Only the faintest breeze can be felt on your skin. With a 59 degree low this morning, the cool air was great for sleeping last night. I see a trio of our guests pointing at the same tree that is showing changing colors that I mentioned here a couple days ago. Signs of fall with still 4 days of July left. Our high yesterday was 75.
Jul 27: The skies over Cook County opened up last night around 7 to 8pm and down came water, wind, lightning, and thunder. When it was all finished a double rainbow in the twilight over the lake marked its end. It was funny watching all our guests (and Teresa) running outside with their phones to get a picture of that rainbow. Our overnight low was 59 and daybreak treated us to blue skies after a foggy night. However, by mid-morning heavy cumulus clouds have now taken over a mostly cloudy sky with just patches of blue. Lake Superior turned from bright blue to a monochromatic gray with the heavy clouds overhead. There are 1-2ft waves from the south breaking against the shore.
Jul 26: Our low this morning was 60 degrees and fog and overcast skies make this a dark morning. We have 1-2ft gray roller waves from the south breaking on the shore. Our visibility on the lake through the fog is about 150ft. Overnight we had wave after wave of rainstorms passing through. The last one at 7am this morning packed quite a punch with the thunder and lightning. I went to bed last night early to a silent Superior. The next thing I heard was the sound of gentle rain. A little while later there was another sound mixed in with the rain. The waves had quickly picked up on the lake and I was hearing the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks that had been missing for several days. It was good to hear the lake speaking out loud again.
Jul 25: We got down to 56 here by the lake last night. There was a good amount of fog this morning but it has now burned off and temps are rising. It is 67 at noon. The very faint breeze feels good against the skin and it actually feels hot in the sun. Lake Superior is calm with small swells and a pale blue against an indistinct horizon.
Jul 24: Our high today was 79 after a morning low of 60. Skies were partly cloudy and we even had a sprinkle of rain in the afternoon briefly. It looks like fall is on the way. I can see a birch tree from the office window that has some yellow and gold in its leaves. Summer is so fleeting here in the boreal forest. It just began and there are already the first signs of fall with some of the less healthy specimens in the forest.
Jul 23: Yesterday was our hottest day of the summer. After a cloud filled morning that kept temps down, the afternoon saw skies gradually clear and by 6pm we hit 86 degrees before temps started cooling quickly. That was especially true when a strong wind and rainstorm hit around 8pm. Our morning low was 59 with a cool wind from the west. Things are warming up quickly with clear but slightly hazy skies. Lake Superior is mostly calm with a blue rippled surface.
Jul 22: It was 59 this morning with cloudy skies. Lake Superior has small waves from the SSE. They are predicting highs in the 80's today but it seems unlikely with the early cloud cover.
Jul 21: Our low overnight was 60 degrees. So far today we have cloud filled gray skies and no sun. Lake Superior has 1ft silver blue waves from the south and the air is still. I can see a gentle breeze moving the tops of the trees. We are at 64 at 11am and unless the clouds make way for some sun I am not sure we will see 70 today. That's OK, after all the heat in southern Minnesota, the cool air is a blessing.
Jul 20: It is so good to return to Lake Superior and Grand Marais from sourthern Minnesota and the heat. The low this morning by the lake was 60 and the low in Faribault was 79. That 79 felt cool compared to yesterday's heat. When I pulled in the temp is today's high in Croftville of 79. Lake Superior is blue with olive shadows and 1-2ft waves banging the shore and a strong breeze rattling the apsens. The sun's warmth against my face feels good.
Jul 19: I traveled to southern Minnesota last night and spent today in the sweltering sun. It was 82 when I woke up on its way to 96 and sweltering dewpoints of 80 degrees making a heat index well into the 100's. No wonder people come to Grand Marais in droves in the summer. Grand Marais's high today was only 78.
Jul 18: Our low this morning was 61 and we are only to 62 at noon. It is overcast with intermittent rain today. Superior is a faint gray with small waves from the SE. Last night the waves were 2ft from the SE and it was fun to hear Lake Superior roaring like we are accustomed to. We also had wind blowing into our windows and a light show from the thunder and lightning.
Jul 17: Our high yesterday spiked briefly to 77 late in the day and it was humid. Today our high only made it to 71 after a morning low of 61. Lake Superior had 6" waves from the SE most of the day but they grew to 1ft later in the afternoon. Two bouts of rain came through in early evening with the first about 4:30pm followed by another bout at 6:30pm.
Jul 16: After a high of 74 yesterday and the powerful rainstorm that pushed through in the late afternoon, we had a low of 61 last night along with a little more rain. It was a warm and humid night by Grand Marais standards. Today we still have a light haze and we can feel the humidity in the air. We do have a breeze and Lake Superior has 1-2ft grayish blue waves with green shadows from the south.
Jul 15: We had a lightning show over the lake last night but no rain ever made it to us. It was fun watching the the thunderclouds move across the sky with the nearly full moon marking the clouds progress. The lighting was almost like a fireworks display illuminating the thunderheads. Overnight stayed surprisingly warm at 61 after our high of 72 yesterday. This morning we have clear blue skies and a purplish pink indistinct horizon. The big lake is a sky blue with navy shadows and 6" waves from the SSE.
Jul 14: It is a hazy Sunday here in Croftville. The lake is a pale blue, at least what you can see of it in the haze. There is a gentle breeze but the lake is still. Our low overnight was a warm 59 after a high yesterday of 74.
Jul 13: It spiked to 84 here by the lake around 6pm last night. That is the warmest temperature we have seen down by the lake I think in 2 years. But things cooled off nicely to 59 after the sun went down. Today we have a beautiful day with cumulus cotton balls dotting the blue sky. It is 71 degrees at noon. The air is still. Lake Superior has 2 horizontal bands on a mostly calm lake with a textured surface. The closed band is a light sky blue, the other band is a dark purplish blue against an almost white sky at the horizon.
Jul 12: With a high of 75, yesterday was our warmest day this year down by the lake in Croftville. A morning thunderstorm cooled things off back down to 55 eraly today. Now that the storm has passed, we have clear blue skies and sun overhead. Looking out at Lake Superior, you can see the storm continuing to cross the lake. The lake is a purplish blue with small 6" roller waves from the SSE. There is also a mist over the lake that limits visibility.
Jul 11: It rained again a couple times yesterday and our high creeped up to 70 in spite of the overcast skies. This morning our low was 55. We have clear blue skies, sun, and a gentle breeze. Lake Superior is sky blue with navy shadows on the 1ft waves from the SSE. It should get into the 70's by the lake today.
Jul 10: It rained pretty hard last night but by this morning the pavement was dry once again. There is heavy fog this morning. We cannot see the lake except for the first 20ft or so. There are 1ft gray waves from the SSE brushing against the shoreline. Our low overnight was a warm 58 after a high yesterday of 68. If the fog sticks around, there might be an even smaller range of temperatures today.
Jul 9: It is hazy this morning. Not enough haze to prevent seeing the sun or to prevent the sun from making shadows. We have a good breeze flickering the leaves of the quaking aspens. Lake Superior is a silver gray with steel blue shadows and 1ft waves from the SE that disappear into fog about a quarter mile from shore. It was 52 this morning and warming up slowly.
Jul 8: It was a gorgeous day traveling down to Duluth today. The high in Grand Marais was 74 but the high on the hill in Duluth was 86. The morning had Lake Superior as glass but by afternoon we started to see and hear small waves again. It is funny to have the lake so still that all you hear is the occasional boat motor followed a few minutes later by its wake brushing up against the shore.
Jul 7: The smoke from a Canadien wildfire covered our skies all day and the sun was an orange globe. Our high managed to get to 71 after a low of 53. Lake Superior was completely calm with a blanket of fog and mist at the horizon.The Red Osier Dogwood is beginning to bud and so are the thimbleberries exposed to the sun.
Jul 6: Our high was 73 and our low was 61 today. We started with blue skies and a breeze going out on the lake this morning after a very still, warm night. Things warmed up quickly but then a brownish overcast took over this afternoon stalling the warming temperatures and turning the sun orange. We suspect fires in Canada but have no confirming information about that.
Jul 5: The fog rolled in yesterday afternoon. The result was that we never again saw the sun and we barely stayed in the 60's as the fog cooled things off. With the fog it was too cool to stay outside without a fire and in true 4th of July fashion there were 6 campfires and 4 charcoal grills going as guests ate food and huddled by the fires. Today the fog has dissipated and we are back to clear blue skies and an unusually calm pale blue Superior. There are 2 dark blue horizontal bands out a ways on the lake, no idea how to explain them.
Jul 4: The high was 73 but the breeze off the lake made it feel much cooler than that. I saw my first thimbleberry blossom of the season this morning. Our morning low was 53 and the quaking aspens are shimmering in the breeze. Overhead are light blue skies. Lake Superior is a deeper blue with a highy textured surface but no real directional waves. They are predicting scattered storms today but so far the only clouds in the sky are far to the west and obscured by the trees.
Jul 3: Our high yesterday was 71 and our low this morning is 55. It was a warm night with both the air and lake still. This morning the lake is almost glass and pale blue except for the darker blue band near the horizon. Overhead we have blue skies with wisps of clouds here and there. The honeysuckles are in full bloom right now and yesterday I saw the first wild rose with an open flower on the roadside.
Jul 2: Blue skies today overhead. Lake Superior just has ripples on its smooth blue surface this morning. There is a darker blue band on the lake right before the horizon line. The air is still this morning and our overnight low was 54 after a high yesterday of 74.
Ju1 1: It stayed warm overnight with a low of 58. Skies are a light gray overcast. The air is still. Lake Superior has small waves from the south and is silvery gray. The sky at the horizon line is a deep blue suggesting storms in northern Wisconsin.
June 2019
Jun 30: We had our 3rd 70 degree day for the summer yesterday with a high of 72 mid-afternoon. Although the lake was calm, the gentle breeze off of it started cooling things down even though it was much warmer inland. It started raining in the late night hours and rained continuously until about 9am. Our low this morning was 50 and here at 3pm it is 60 and doesn't look like it will get any warmer today. Around 5am a powerful wind right off the lake started churning things up. It was so strong it burst open our stiff fitting french doors facing the lake that we often forget to fully latch. It takes quite a push to open them so I can appreciate just how strong the wind was. We lost power for about an hour when that wind knocked down some trees. We now have light overcast skies and 2-3ft gray swells breaking on the shore from the SSE.
Jun 29: We missed a 70 degree high yesterday managing to get to 67 in the late afternoon. Today I think we will see the 70's. We started with 50 this mornng and are at 63 at 11am. The breeze feels warm. Lake Superior only has ripples on its pale blue surface and there are a number of boats out there making use of the calm waters. There is not a cloud in the sky today.
Jun 28: Once again we have blue skies overhead. Lake Superior has only ripples on its pale blue surface today. The air is still after an overnight low of 50. At 2pm it is now 61 degrees and looks like it will probably match our high yesterday of 64. There are some high wispy clouds over the lake.
Jun 27: Our high yesterday was 63 and our low this morning was 52. It is a beautiful day with clear blue skies over a pale blue lake with ripples from the south. The lake has a purplish band near the horizon where the sky is almost white with a hint of blue.
Jun 26: Our high yesterday stalled at 63 degrees when a couple rainstorms passed through and cooled things down in the afternoon. This morning we have 47 degrees and clear blue skies. The big lake has 1-2ft blue waves with dark olive green shadows from the south. The horizon line has a thin white band and is a little hazy.
Jun 25: What a change overnight. We woke up to 47 degrees and partly cloudy blue skies with high clouds. The waves on Lake Superior changed from the SE to the south and are 2-3ft, brilliant blue, navy shadows, and a mattering of whitecaps. There is a cool breeze coming off of the hill which is unusual for this time of the year. Usually a breeze off the hill is warm.
Jun 24: It is foggy and overcast this orning after raining all night since about 7pm. Our low thia morning is 49, the air is still and damp. The lake disappears into the fog a couple hundred yards from shore. Lake Superior has 1ft gray waves with a bluish tint from the SE.
Jun 23: Our high yesterday topped out at 72 around 6:30pm. Early this morning we got down to 53 and the clouds came in to cover up the nearly full moon. Overcast skies and a small breeze off the lake suggest our high is only going to be in the upper 50's today. We had a light rain this morning. Lake Superior is a monotone gray with 1-2ft waves from the SE.
Jun 22: We are at 58 degrees at noon today. There is a gentle cool breeze off the lake today. Skies are clear and sky blue. Lake Superior has 1-2ft deep blues waves with navy shadows from the SE. Early summer doesn't get any better than this.
Jun 21: We got to 75 yesterday at about 6pm. The air was still and the lake was still so even though it was only 64 at 3pm the air just kept warming up. This was our high for the year down on the lake so far and only our second 70 dgree day of the year. This morning our low was 48. A breeze has come back to us along the lake which feels refreshing. Lake Superior is a sky blue with navy shadows and silver highlights. The horizon is white, the sky is mostly blue and sunny, and we have 1ft waves from the SE. It is a gorgeous day for the solstice.
Jun 20: Our high was only 67 yesterday late in the afternoon in spit of the sun. Our low this morning is 48 and the day looks just like yesterday. We have clear blue skies and a calm Lake Superior. The lake is a pale blue and it is hazy at the horizon. Each passing day the deciduous foliage gets a deeper green and denser. The balsam firs and spruce are starting to show their new growth.
Jun 19: Lake Superior is glass this morning. We can clearly see all the rocks on the lakebed. The color is a light sky blue, just one shade lighter than the clear blue sky overhead. There is a purplish blue dark band on the lake near the horizon. Our temperature this morning is 50 degrees and perhaps we might see 70 today.
Jun 18: It was windy today with mostly cloudy skies. Lake Superior had 1-2ft waves most of the day. Our low was 46 and our high was 63 which was pretty warm considering the cloud cover.
Jun 17: A solid cloud cover moved in just shortly after sunrise. Lake Superior is a slver blue with 1ft waves from the SE and dark gray shadows. The juneberries and canada cherry are now in full bloom as are the flowering crabs in Grand Marais. Our low this morning by the lake was 49.
Jun 16: It was a beautiful day with a bright blue Lake Superior and partly cloudy skies. Our low was 42 abd we climbed to 68 late in the afternoon. It was a beautiful evening, we sat by the fire and ate shish-ke-bobs and s'mores watching the moon navigate between the clouds.
Jun 15: Our low this morning was 42 and our high this afternoon is 60. Lake Superior this morning had ripples from the SE this morning which has changed to 6" blue waves with navy shadows from the SSW this afternoon. We have mostly blue skies with long streaks of clouds.
Jun 14: We drove to Duluth this morning and returned home this evening. It was raining when we left at 8am and it was raining when we returned at 8pm. In between, we saw a lot of rain and fog on the road and some unbelievable thunderclouds as we approached home. The low this morning was 49 and the high in the later afternoon was 62.
Jun 13: The morning low was 47 and the high here by the lake was 69. Lake Superior was a light blue and mostly calm with mostly sunny skies. The Juneberries and wild strawberries are now blossoming.
Jun 12: After 47 this morning we are at 65 degrees at 3pm. There is a gentle breeze with changing directions. Skies are partly cloudy with plenty of shade between bouts of sun. Lake Superior has 6" pale blue waves. Last night around 8pm we watched a rainstorm move in from the west. Strong winds from the NW pelted big drops of rain through any north of west open windows as we scurried around closing them as fast as we could. We were mesmerized by the changing colors of the lake as the storm approached. It rained hard and steady for over an hour.
Jun 11: We made it to 63 yesterday before popcorn rainstorms cooled things off in the afternoon. Our low overnight was 49 degrees. We have clear blue skies overhead. Lake Superior is a light blue and calm. The only exception is the dark blue narrow band just before the white sky at the horizon. The unique color of spring green that you see as trees are leafing out is beginning to disappear as the aspens and birch leaves start to take on a deeper green.
Jun 10: Looks like a beautiful early summer day with clear blue skies, a deep blue Lake Superior with silver highlights and navy shadows, and 1ft waves from the SSW. We are at 50 degrees this morning and should see the lower 70's today. Yesterday afternoon rain came in and kept our temps in the 60's. We watched gusts of wind hammer the lake and spread out as it came off the hill.
Jun 9: We have high cirrus clouds over the lake today. The lake is a pale blue this morning with a narrow dark band a navy at the horizon. The lake has 6"waves from the SE. We made it to 75 yesterday late afternoon here in Croftville. It was our first 70 degree day this year. At 3pm it was only 61 but then the breeeze off the lake stopped and we got to 75 about 6pm. This morning it is 54 and if the cloud cover stays light, we should see another 70 degree day.
Jun 8: Our low was 47 and we are now at 52 this morning with blue skies and just a few high wispy clouds. Lake Superior is bright blue near the shore turning to a pale bluish white further out, and then has a dark blue band right at the horizon. We have 1ft waves from the SE this morning.
Jun 7: Our high today was 65 and our morning low was 47 along Lake Superior. The amazing fog from yesterday has been replaced by sun and blue skies today. Lake Superior is a deep blue (almost navy blue) with 1-2ft waves from the SE. The high of 65 along the lake is not representative of the temps just a few miles inland, it was 85 on the Gunflint Trail today.
Jun 6: There is intense fog coming in and out from the lake. When the fog rolls onto shore visibility can be reduced to 100ft. Overhead we can see clear blue skies. Our low his morning was 44 after a high yesterday of 55. Right now we are at 49 at 11am. When I can see the lake, there are 1ft waves from the SSW.
Jun 5: We were at 45 and 46 degrees all night and this morning. Skies are heavily gray overcast, winds are still, and Lake Superior is a dark bluish gray with 1-2ft waves from the SE.
Jun 4: Our low was 45 and our high was 50. Lake Superior started the day still but by late afternoon had worked itself up to 2-3ft waves. The morning started with blue skies but quickly changed to a grayish yellow overcast. By early afternoon it began to sprinkle and by evening we had a light but steady rain coming down.
Jun 3: It was a chilly night once again with 41 after a high of 60. Right now it is 46 at noon. Skies were blue and Lake Superior was a calm, silent, deep blue. It looked like a repeat of yesterday until a yellowish overcast moved in probably coming down from the Canadian fires. We will be lucky to see 50 today with possible rain this afternoon.
Jun 2: It was chilly last night getting down to 41 after a high yesterday of 59. The clear blue skies this morning have temperatures rising nicely. Lake Superior only has ripples on it this morning. Looking out over the deep blue lake you can see many patches of differing textures. It is beginning to look like summer and I guess that is appropriate since it is the second of June.
Jun 1: The thermometer says the high was 59 but my experience says it was much cooler. In fact, when the breeze switched to coming off the lake is was outright cold. Only physical activity made it comfortable here. The hazy skies from the Canadian fires dissipated around noon and we now have brilliant blue skies over a brilliant blue lake with small 1ft waves from the SSE.
May 2019
May 31: Our low was 45 last night and we at at 51 at noon. The skies are a light gray overcast. Lake Superior has 1-2ft medium gray waves from the SE against a light blue sky on the horizon. Teresa is talking about the need to mow the grass but I am enjoying our dandelions that just came out earlier this week and don't like the idea of cutting them off.
May 30: It didn't make it to 70 yesterday but only 68. Today we only got to 57 after an overnight low of 48. The day started promising and looked like it would be sunny but then a haze from Canadian fires drifted our way and got thicker and thicker throug the afternoon. Rought now the sun is a hazy orange orb against a pale purplish sky. Lake Superior is a medium gray with just ripples for waves from the SE.
May 29: It is a beautiful spring morning here on Croftville Road. We have clear blue skies overhead. We have a purplish blue lake with 6" gentle waves from the south. We have a white sky at the horizon line. It is 56 degrees this morning which gives us the possibility of seeing our first 70 degree day this year. The birch and quaking aspen are now leafed out. The quaking aspen have that pale green color you only see the first couple weeks after they have leafed out. We are still waiting on the balsam aspen and canada cherry to leaf out.
May 28: The waves picked up overnight with 2ft waves from the SSW. They have subsided during the day and are only 1ft waves as evening approaches. Our low was a chilly 36 and our high was 57 today. There was light overcast this morning but clear skies this afternoon.
May 27: It is a gray day with rain this morning. We had a low of 44 and a high of 50. Lake Superior is a light silver blue with a distintly blue sky at the horizon. The lake has a textured surface with no noticable wave direction. The grass has turned a deep green over the past few days. No more patches of brown from the winter.
May 26: Happy Birthday Aubrey, our oldest daughter. Yesterday lat afternoon the sun came out and it jumped from 48 to 68 in a little more than an hour. It was warm last night and a good night to sit and enjoy a fire outdoors. This morning we had a clear sunrise and a silver blue lake with a white band near the horizon that almost looked like ice. However, skies clouded up quickly and we are stuck once again around 50 degrees.
May 25: Fog covers Lake Superior and the shore this morning. The little of the lake you can see is silver blue with small 1ft waves from the SSW. Temps have stayed right arounf 46 since yesterday afternoon with a low of 45, a high of 47, and it is 46 right now at 10am.
May 24: Lake Superior has a hazy horizon on a dark grayish blue lake with 2ft waves from the SE. Skies are overcast in Croftville. Our high for today was at midnight with 55 degrees. It then went down to 44 and has rebounded to 46 at noon. I don't expect it to get much warmer but rain from southern Minnesota is on the way.
May 23: It was rainy and foggy this morning. The rain and fog dissipated to heavily overcast skies the rest of the day. Lake Superior was a dark gray with 2-3ft waves from the SE. Our low was 42. After being in the 40's most of the day, the temperature spiked to 61 late in the afternoon.
May 22: It was a rainy night and a rainy day. Rain started around 3am and came down heavy from about 8-10am. Skies are heavily overcast with rain starting and stopping repeatedly. Lake Superior is a dark muddy gray with a hint of blue on the horizon. There are 3ft waves with whitecaps from the SE. The horizon sky is white against the dark lake suggesting better weather to the south. Our low this morning was 46 and so far this afternoon at 3pm 46 is also our high. The wind from the NE feels much colder.
May 21: We have brilliant blue clear skies today with a calm pale blue Lake Superior. At the horizon there is a dark blue narrow band on the big lake. The grass is really starting to turn green and the birch are close to leafing out. The quaking aspen are close to and the balsam aspen now have visible buds. We spiked up to 60 late in the afternoon yesterday and cooled down to 40 last night. Right now, it is 48 at noon.
May 20: There are blue skies in Croftville with a few high thin clouds. It was 41 this morning. Lake Superior is a pale blue with small 1ft roller waves from the SE. In spite of the cold, several guests enjoyed outdoor fires last night.
May 19: Our low was 43 this morning in Croftville, our high so far at 5pm is 47 degrees. Our guests checking in said they has to pass through a heavy snowstorm with 2" of accumulated snow just south of Duluth. It is May 19th, isn't it? We have had gray overcast all day with a little rain coming down intermittently. Lake Superior is gray with just a hint of blue. There are 2-3ft waves from the SE crashing into shore. Last night there was an ore freighter passing by Croftville less than a mile from shore which is quite unusual. I am lucky I happened to see it because when they are close to shore they enter and leave your field of vision very quickly.
May 18: No rain overnight. No rain this morning even though the radar tells us it is raining right now and snowing in the neighboring Lake County. There is something about this lake that precipitation stops dead in its tracks when it reaches the shore. Our overnight low was 36 and we are are up to 44 at noon. No chance of seeing 50 degrees today.
May 17: It was 66 degrees today as trees continue to bud along the shore here in Croftville. Lake Superior was a light blue with 1ft waves with silver highlights and navy shadows. Rain is covering most of Minnesota today but it never made its way up here in the Arrowhead.
May 16: There was rain overnight and there is a heavy cloud cover today. Lake Superior is a grayish black with silver highlights when enough sunlight breaks through to reflect off the 1ft waves from the SSW. It was 44 this morning and our high is 53 this afternoon.
May 15: The high was 57 and our low 45. It was an amazing spring day today after the heavy fog that drifted in over the lake yesterday afternoon. Today it was all sun until about 6pm. Lake Superior was an amazing blue with small waves barely noticable from the south. We drove down the shore today to watch a track meet. It was revealing to watch the different stages of spring as we headed southward. Grand Marais only has budding aspens but as we appproached Duluth more and more of the quaking aspens had leafed out.
May 14: Lake Superior just has small ripples on its light blue surface this morning and a hazy horizon. Skies overhead are slightly hazy as well although the sun is coming through enough to make shadows. Our low last night was 41 after an afternoon high yesterday of 59.
May 13: Yesterday's high was 58 and we are at 38 this morning. There are high cirrus clouds dotting the blue sky this morning. Lake Superior was glas when I woke up but is now developing a textured blue surface but still too small to discern their direction. The birds are quiet this morning which gives our cat the excuse to take a nap on my keyboard while I try to type this.
May 12: Our low was 37 and with the sun, blue skies, and high cirrus clouds, I expect temps to warm up quickly. Lake Superior is a light blue with 1ft waves from the SE with navy shadows. The pussy willows across the street are beginning to leaf out today and there are now buds on the red osier dogwood. There was a group of small birds yesterday foraging on the forest floor and driving our cat crazy.
May 11: With clear skies and bright stars overnight, temps dropped down to 32. This morning we had mostly sunny blue skies with cumulus cotton balls passing by. Lake Superior is once again a light blue with small waves from the south and a hazy white horizon line. It is 46 at noon and we should see 50 degrees as the apsens continue to bud.
May 10: It is a beautiful spring day today. The aspens are now budding. It was an amazing 58 degrees this afternoon and we spent it watching a high school track meet in the sun in Duluth. Perfect. Our morning low was 35 and things warmed up quickly. Lake Superior was a light blue with only small waves. It was fun watching the freighters in the water as we approached Duluth.
May 9: There is snow everywhere in Cook County this morning except for a narrow band of rain along the lake. There is just nothing fun or pretty about snow in May. I am thankful I count myself along the narrow band of rain. Overhead is rain and dark skies. The rain is supposed to be quitting by early afternoon. Our low was 34 and right now we are at 41 at noon. Lake Superior was booming last night with 3-5ft waves from the SE. I got up at 2am when I heard the waves crashing and then remembered I forgot to secure the adirondack chairs safely from the water down on the beach. Out I went and saved them before Lake Superior claimed them.
May 8: It is a cold day today. There are gray overcast skies and a bluish gray lake. The lake has 2-3ft waves from the SE. Our morning low was 34, it warmed up to 44 and now it appears that temps are dropping again this afternoon. The wind is from many directions, but whether it is swirling from inland or from Superior, it feels cold.
May 7: We have clear blue skies and a clear blue mostly calm lake in Croftville this morning. There is a white horizon line and a gentle cool wind coming off Superior. Our morning low was 35 and our afternoon high should be around 50.
May 6: It was gray overcast and cool today. Our high was 45 after a morning low of 32. Lake Superior had 1ft gray waves from the SSW.
May 5: We had rain last night but this morning we have mostly blue skies with streaks of high cirrus clouds. Our morning low was 42. The air is still. Lake Superior has a dark navy blue band at the horizon. Ther est of the lake is silver blue with navy shadows with 1ft waves from the south.
May 4: We had a beautiful albeit windy spring day today. There was mostly sun but at times it was cloudy. Our high was 51. Lake Superior had 1ft bluish gray waves from the SE.
May 3: It was foggy almost all day long today. Never saw the Lake Superior horizon, only saw about the first 200 yards if we were lucky. It was kind of fun watching and feeling the fog drift in and out of shore. Our low this morning was 33 and our high was only 43 with the overcast skies stopping the sun. The little we could see of Lake Superior was gray with 1ft waves sloshing against the shore.
May 2: The rain last night near the shore pretty much wiped out the snow from our latest storm. Skies today are overcast. Lake Superior has 1-2ft waves from the SE. Ther band close to shore is almost a bronze color. The band extending to the horizon is a transluscent bluish green. The low this morning was 34 and right now it is 40 degrees at 11am.
May 1: It was snowing when we got up this morning to remind us that even in May winter still can flex its muscles in the Arrowhead of Minnesota. Our high today was 39 with our low this morning of 34. Skies were a dark gray overcast all day and the snow turned to mostly rain for most of the day. Lake Superior had the familiar brownish band of water near the shore which turned to a transluscent blue green further out with 2-3ft waves and a few whitecaps from the SE
April 2019
Apr 30: Well, our low yesterday was 33 degrees and our high was 34. This seemed more like like winter days in Eugene, Oregon when the temperature would sometimes never vary. The snow finally ended around 9pm. We ended up with about 6 inches of sloppy wet snow by the lake but inland they had a foot or more of wet sloppy snow. I am glad it is over, at least our guests got to watch Lake Superior put on a show for them with the waves. Today it is overcast and our high was 41 as the snow slowly melts. Lake Superior is more subdued with gray 2-3ft waves coming in from the SE.
Apr 29: It got down to 34 last night. That's 2 degrees over the freezing point. It's been 34 all day long so far at 3pm. And yet, it started snowing arounf 5am and hasn't stopped all day. We were raking our lawns yesterday and yet 5" of wet sloppy snow has already accumulated today and there is still no sign of it stopping. This is the penultimate day of April and still it is snowing. Lake Superior has responded with anger to this snow and wind. We have 3-4ft rollers from the the south crashing into the shore in proetest. Our cat kept trying to go out different doors figuring that spring weather must be outside one of them.
Apr 28: It got to 52 today. The day started with sun and partly cloudy skies but ended up with gray overcast. They say that snow is on the way but that is pretty hard to believe with how pleasant it is outside today. Lake Superior is mostly still and silver gray. We are raking the yard today. I would guess that our lawns will be completely green within another week or two. The gooseberry bushes are just starting to leaf out. They are always the first to do this every year.
Apr 27: Our high yesterday was 57 and then the weather changed overnight and temps dropped to 30. This morning we are struggling to get out of the 30's with light gray overcast skies and a mostly calm grayish blue Lake Superior against a dark blue horizon line to the south.
Apr 26: There are large cumulus clouds with gray bottoms moving quickly across the partly cloudy blue skies this morning. The wind is strong from the north and I can watch the gusts hit Lake Superior and spread out over the surface. The big lake is a grayish blue this morning with no noticable wave direction but with a rippled surface. Our friend, the fox, was sitting out in the middle of Croftville Road barking like a beagle at 2am. I think he was barking at the cat to come play with him. I told him, "Shhh" and he got up and went away. Our cat came in all bushy tailed.
Apr 25: It was the sort of spring day that you dream of here in Croftville. We had blue skies with occasional clouds. There was only a light breeze but it wasn't off the lake so the air was warm. Our low overnight was 40 and it warmed quickly up to an afternoon high of 63. The grass is now starting to green up, especially where it is exposed to long periods of sun. Lake Superior was a bright blue with small waves from the south on a rippled surface.
Apr 24: It rained lightly all morning with breaks in the clouds showing up in the afternoon. The big lake is a silver gray with small 6" roller waves from the SE. There is a narrow dark band on the lake at the horizon. Our high yesterday was 54, our low this morning was 35, and at 3pm today we are at 43.
Apr 23: There was a heavy frost on the rooftops this morning with our low at 35. We have clear blue skies this morning and temps should rise quickly with the sun. There is a white have over Lake Superior this morning with light blue small 6" roller waves from the SE.
Apr 22: We are at our daytime low so far today at 2pm with 42 degrees. Morning started at 47 and has been slowly going down all day. There has been no rain today although they have been predicting it since early this morning. Skies are gray overcast. Lake Superior is a brownish greeen with 1-2ft textured waves coming in from the SSE.
Apr 21: Happy Easter! Our high today was 54 and our low 34. Skies were cloudy and overcast with light on and off rain through the day. Lake Superior was a bluish gray and calm with a textured surface.
Apr 20: It surprisingly got down to 33 this morning after a high of 60 yesterday. The full moon was out in force lighting up the lake and everything else it touched or reflected off last night. The clear skies helped to bring the temperatures down. This morning we have mostly blue skies with high cirrus clouds. Lake Superior is sky blue and has just ripples for waves coming straight in from the SSE. There are some ducks out enjoying the calm waters. Should be a great day to do the hiking to waterfalls we have planned for our day.
Apr 19: Wow, a 60 degree high blows away our warmenst day this spring by 9 degrees over yesterday. Our low this morning was 36. Lake Superior this morning had a textured blue surface with no discernable direction for waves. There also was a large light blue snooth patch away from shore that almost looked like ice but it wasn't. Not sure what caused it. The warmth of the last couple days combined with the recent moisture has brought signs of green on the lawn.
Apr 18: It feels like spring this morning. We can see rainclouds to the west, a little sun, and lots of higher clouds. Lake Superior is a grayish dark blue with 2-3ft waves from the SE. It would get really warm today if the sun was out, but without it we are already at 52 at 1pm which is the warmest temperature we have seen this spring. Our low overnight was 39.
Apr 17: The rain held off most of the day and started about 5pm. Skies were overcast all day but it still rose to 50 degress after a mornign low of 34. Lake Superior had 2-3ft gray waves from the SE.
Apr 16: What a great spring day. Our morning low was 35 and our high is 49 which is at 6pm. There has been lots of sun today with light clouds passing by at times. Lake Superior is a light sky blue against a white horizon line. There are small waves from the south.
Apr 15: Wow, we are halfway through April already but we are still not quite ready to say it is spring after the storm this past weekend. Even though we started at 31 we rose to 51 today and took a dent out of the snow from last Friday. Lake Superior was calm and pale blue today. We saw 2 frieghters passing by in the night last night all lit up.
Apr 14: Lake Superior is still and pale blue today. There does seem to be a haze ove the water that doesn't allow any separation between the water and the sky. Elsewhere, we have blue skies with a few light high clouds. We were 27 this morning but the sun is warming thins up nicely and we are at 44 at 1pm. The sun is our friend and melting away at the unwanted snow of the past days.
Apr 13: The snow stopped sometime during the night and I woke up to sun this morning. There was no significant accumulation yesterday, 1-2 inches at most to add to the 4-8 inches from the night before. The sun was short-lived this morning and soon was replaced by clouds and then overcast skies. Lake Superior is a steel gray today with small waves from the south. The horizon is a narrow white band suggesting sunny skies to the south. Our low was 28 but with the overcast skies we may have already seen our high of 36 with the sun this morning. Right now it has dropped to 32 with the overcast. I sure hope to see some sun and warmer temps to minimize the amount of shoveling we have to do with this wet heavy snow.
Apr 12: The winter storm plaguing southern Minnesota for the last few days finally made it to us at 5:30pm last night. By 10pm the snow was being blown by the wind so hard that I could barely make out Cottage #3 from the Inn. By morning the wind was gone but it left about 4-8" of wet snow drifted around the resort. Lake Superior had 4-6ft waves from the SE this morning but is now nearly calm at 5pm. There is still the choclolate band of water for the first 100ft from the shore with the rest of the lake a medium gray that blends seamlessly into the gray sky. Our low today was 28 and our high so far is 36.
Apr 11: Our low was 29 this morning and it is 31 at 2pm. It is very windy today and the wind has churned up the waves to 3-5ft from the SE. The waves have rooted up sediment on the lake bottom and we have a band of chocolate colored water for the first 100ft. After that, Lake Superior is a light greenish blue with a dark blue horizon line. I assume that dark blue horizon line is the winter storm that seems stalled to the south of us. I am beginning to think this slow moving storm is going to play itself out and never reach us. We still have a winter storm warning that has been in effect since yesterday but no precipitation to show, yet.
Apr 10: There is a winter storm on the way. All we could see of it today was winds picking up from the NE. Our low this morning was 28 and our high this afternoon was 36. Skies were cloudy or overcast and Lake Superior was a pale gray with growing waves from the ESE. About 7pm there was an amazing bank of cirrus clouds backlit by the setting sun in the west. It is a slow moving storm and maybe there will be some snow starting by morning. It passed through southern Minnesota this morning but still isn't here tonight.
Apr 9: We had a little rain, a little overcast, some clouds, and even a little sun today. Lake Superior was a pale blue with small waves from the south. Our high was 39 and our low 32.
Apr 8: Lake Superior is a light gray with green shadows today. The small 1ft waves have changed direction from the SSW today. There were layers of clouds at sunrise today but that has now been supplanted by light gray overcast skies. Our low was 36 last night and our high will be in the low 40's.
Apr 7: Lake Superior had greenish gray 2ft waves from the SE today. There was a heavy overcast all day long and a solid good rain at times. The rain really shrinks our remaining snow cover. High was 42 and our low this morning was 39.
Apr 6: We had a little of everything overhead today, overcast, clouds, sun. Our high was 46 and our low 31. Lake Superior had small light blue waves from the south.
Apr 5: We woke up to 1" of fresh wet snow this morning. It was gone except on the north sides of buildings by 11am. Overnight we had 30 degrees and our high this afternoon was 40. That was pretty warm considering the skies were heavily overcast all day. There is no wind so even without the sun it is comfortable outdoors. Lake Superior is silver with green shadows and small waves from the south.
Apr 4: We had 23 this morning with hazy skies with the sun coming partly through the haze. There are 1ft light blue waves with navy shadows from the SSE. In spite of the pervasive haze, the sun is strong enough to make shadows. The high today should be near 40.
Apr 3: We got rain and snow yesterday afternoon and then a dusting of snow last night before quickly melting away this morning. Overnight it was 24 and it is 35 this afternoon. Lake Superior is a dark gray with dazzling white highlights from the sun reflections. We have 1-2ft waves from the south. The snow continues to slowly melt away.
Apr 2: We have mostly sunny blue skies this morning after 30 degrees and a dusting of snow overnight. The big lake is light blue with 1-2ft waves with olive green shadows from the SSW. A freshly killed deer was found by a guest yesterday. It is not clear whether it was hit on the highway and dragged down to Croftville Road by predators or if it was killed by predators at that spot. Of course, it could be a combination of both. I expect little will be left of it once the ravens and eagles discover the location.
Apr 1: Even though it was a chilly evening, the cat insisted on being outside overnight with the low of 21. It is warming up quickly today in spite of cloudy skies and is 37 at 11am which matches yesterday's high. Lake Superior has 1-2ft waves with black shadows from the south
March 2019
Mar 31: We had a few sleet pellets falling around midday. Overnight it was 22 warming up to freezing by noon and reaching a high of 37 around 4pm. Lake Superior has smooth 1ft bluish silver waves from the SSW. Overhead we have had gray cloudy skies.
Mar 30: It got chilly last night with a low of 19. During the night we had a powerful wind from the north pushing, whistling, and howling against the inn. An ore freighter passed within 2-3 miles all lit up during the night. This morning the 1-2ft blue waves have chaged direction coming from the SE. We have clear blue skies and lots of sun. Down here on the shore we have now passed the point where we have more bare ground than snow covered ground.
Mar 29: It was windy today with a high of 42 and a low of 28. It felt cold with the wind in spite of a decent amount of sun. Lake Superior was surprisingly calm in spite of the wind with a blue textured surface. Teresa saw a couple freighters off near the horizon.
Mar 28: After a low of 32 we hit 48 degrees this afternoon. It didn't feel quite that warm with a brisk wind pushing against us. There was a crisp horizon line demarcing the pale blue clear sky and the dark blue lake. Lake Superior has a textured surface but very little wave action today.
Mar 27: It stayed warm overnight and at 33 never got down to freezing. It certainly will warm up today but how much will likely depend on whether the cloudy skies will allow some sun to break out. Lake Superior is a silvery blue this morning with small 1ft waves from the south on a smooth surface.
Mar 26: Lake Superior became a light blue glass sheet ovenight. The water is completely still without even ripples. Our low was 22 but the clear blue skies should allow the sun to continue with the thawing of our snow. I saw lights of my first freighter of the season passing by last night. It was at least 5 miles out. I was hoping the first one I saw would be a bit closer to shore. I will keep my eyes alert for them now.
Mar 25: It got up to 42 today after a chilly morning temp in the low 20's. We had partly cloudy skies and thawing on the southern exposures alothoug there was no thawing on the north until late into the afternoon. Lake Superior was blue and mostly calm today with just small waves and a smooth surface.
Mar 24: It got down to 18 degrees last night. This is maybe the coldest temp we have seen in a couple weeks and it is actually a fairly normal low temp for this time of the year. Ever since that rain a couple weeks back we have had an amazing thawing streak. It didn't get as warm as it has been getting but we still managed to get into the mid 30's today. Lake Superior is a stark blue with 1-2ft waves from the south. Teresa tells me we should start seeing freighters since the Soo Locks open today or tomorrow.
Mar 23: It is another striking spring day with a brisk wind and clear blue skies. The sun really warms you high in the sky. Watched an almost full but now waning moon last night keep me awake moving across the southern sky. Our low this morning was 24 and it looks like our high will be in the mid 40's. Lake Superior is a gorgeous metallic blue with black shadows. We have 2-3ft waves from the south.
Mar 22: We hit 54 degrees here by the lake yesterday afternoon. The predicted high was only in the mid 40's. We haven't seen temps like this since early October. Today we are sitting at 35 at 1pm after an ovenight low of 30. We have clear blue skies and a deep blue lake with silver highlights. There are 1-2ft waves from the south.
Mar 21: Spring is here and it actually feels like spring in Cook County. We have mostly clear blue skies today with brisk winds and temps in the upper 30's after a high yesterday of 45 which is the warmest we have seen since October. There is still a lot of snow on the ground even down here next to the lake. Lake Superior is a deep brilliant blue with whitecaps on its 2-3ft waves from the south. Our cat is in heaven running around and sniffing everything outside.
Mar 20: We had a dusting of snow last night even though our low was 34 degrees. Skies are overcast and a misty rain falls intermittently. Lake Superior is a dark blue with a hint of green with 2ft waves from the south.
Mar 19: Our low this morning was 30 and our high was 42 this afternoon. We had mostly cloudy skies with high thin cirrus clouds. Lake Superior had 1-2ft dark blue waves from the south.
Mar 18: Lake Superior has a textured surface today with 1-2ft waves from the SSW. Skies are mostly cloudy with patches of blue and sun. Our low last night was 26 after a high of 40. If we get a bit more sun we may get to that again today. Snow is slowly melting in Croftville.
Mar 17: Lake Superior has 2 bands this morning. The first band for about 100 yards from the shore is a smooth silvery blue. The second band all the way to the horizon is more textured and a darker purplish blue. The lake has small waves but too small to determine a distinct direction. Overhead are clear blue skies. The low overnight was 22 after a high yesterday afternoon of 36. It looks like another beautiful early spring day.
Mar 16: Lake Superior is a deep blue with textured tracks you can watch as they spread out over the water from gusts of wind. Skies are blue and there is lots of sunshine. Temps are rising from our low last night of 22. We should easliy get warmer than our high yesterday of 29.
Mar 15: After a high of 44 yesterday, the rain stopped in the late afternoon and the sun peeked out behind the clouds. Next, a front with strong winds came around 7pm. The winds stayed through the night and through the morning today. Temps dropped to 28 overnight and have now been creeping up right around freezing. Skies are overcast and Lake Superior is a light textured gray all they way to the horizon. No sign of ice on Superior today. Beware of the Ides of March.
Mar 14: It started raining last night around 6 and hasn't really stopped since other than short respites. With the frozen ground, the rain and the melting snow with temps right around 40 degrees, water leaked into our septic tanks requiring us to run the pumps to our mounds manually twice during the night. Lake Superior is a medium gray with a greenish tint and a textured surface. Only a few chunks of ice are visible from Croftville. Skies overhead are overcast. Rain is expected to continue through the day.
Mar 13: After a high of 38 yesterday we woke up to 34 degrees this morning. There is dense fog and still air in Croftville. I suspect this heavy fog may not lift and that our temps will stay in the mid to upper 30's today. Lake Superor is a still gray with chunks of ice floating near the shore. We can't see out more than a 100 yards. They are predicting heavy rain beginning tonight.
Mar 12: The waves picked up yesterday afternoon to 3-5ft which churned up the ice along the shore and sheet of ice further out into pulverized ice cubes. The sound of the ice grinding in the waves was almost thunderous. These waves continued through the night although they have diminished down to 2-3ft waves this morning. At sunrise we have mostly clear skies scattered with thin wispy clouds and 24 degrees. The ice debris field is smaller this morning, I suspect that much of the ice was reabsorbed by the lake and some of the it was thrown up on shore by the waves. Our high yesterday was 37.
Mar 11: We are at 21 this morning. There are clear blue skies over us and the lake. Lake Superior is a deep blue with small chunks of ice drifting in the lake currents.
Mar 10: Our low, 25. Our high 37. We got about 3" of light snow overnight but by late afternoon it was pretty wet. It is our second day of a thaw and it feels so good outside. It is so nice to go out in just a light sweatshirt and stocking cap and still be comfortable. Lake Superior had ice flows pushing up against the shore creating a kaleidoscope of ice, snow, and open water.
Mar 9: Wow, only got down to 22 last night and has rose to 37 today even with overcast skies. The snow that is supposed to be coming may be more rain than snow. Lake Superior had sheets of ice crackling against the shore this morning. The thin sheets stacked up on the shorline. We have seen sheets of ice drift in and drift out on a silver blue still lake today.
Mar 8: It was a warm night by comparison with the last week. It only got down to 11 last night along the lake after an afternoon high that fizzled out at 27. Today the skies are overcast so it doesn't look like we will see freezing today. Lake Superior is a light blusih gray with 1ft waves once again from the SSW.
Mar 7: After a high of 25 yesterday we once again were below zero last night at 1 below. Skies have have been blue and clear today. Lake Superior is a deep bright blue with small 1ft waves from the SSW. We have already hit 25 and should get close to freezing today.
Mar 6: Our high yesterday was 15 and then temps dropped once again down to 2 below during the early morning hours. It is really noticable now how much earlier it is getting light outside, by 6am it is no longer dark. That will change this weekend when daylight savings goes into effect. I used to think of daylight savings time as a spring change but it sure doesn't look like spring outside yet. Lake Superior is a big dark gray mass of open water after that poweful but short storm 2 days ago broke up the ice as far as we can see here in Croftville. Skies overhead are cloudy.
Mar 5: It managed to get into the lower 20's yesterday afternoon before temps dipped below zero once again last night. It had warmed up to 0 this morning. Although there was nothing on the radar, we had a ferocious lake effect wind and snow storm for about 2 hours late yesterday afternoon. I don't think we got more than 2-3 inches but the winds may have pushed what came down all the way to North Dakota. In addition there were whirlwind out on the lake that looked like small tornadoes. The powerful winds came straight off the lake and quickly built up 3-4ft waves that pulverized the ice shelf along the shore. This morning Lake Superior is light blue with lightly overcast skies. We have small waves from the SSW and just a small strip of stacked ice along the shore.
Mar 4: It got to 23 yesterday but last night it dropped all the way to 8 below. Except for the narrow ice shelf along the shore, Lake Superior is still dark blue open water as far as we can see here in Croftville. Skies are lightly overcast this morning but will likely burn off as the sun gets higher in the sky. 8 below is really quite cold for March with no thawing in sight through this coming week.
Mar 3: It was a frigid night with a low of 4 below. A portion of the ice near the shore broke off and pivoted only to reattach itself to the remaining ice along the shore. The open water is a deep dark blue. The overcast skies quickly burned off as the sun rose into the sky leaving now a clear blue sky and bright sunshine. The cold is to continue but the sun is now too strong to not warm us up today. We will probably get near 20 today.
Mar 2: Our low this morning was a balmy 9 in spite of the clear skies showing off the stars, planets, and crescent moon before sunrise. Today we have clear blue skies and a bright blue open water Lake Superior here in Croftville. There is about 100ft of stacked ice along the shore and all the other ice sheets and chunks are gone. We are at 12 degrees now and it will be a great day to get out and enjoy the snow. Subzero temps are on their way back for tonight.
Mar 1: Temps really spiked down last night once again dipping to 7 below. However, the weather also changed last night and even though we have light gray overcast skies, temps have quickly rebounded. We are already at 23 at noon and the air is still. Lake Superior continues to be a mosaic of ice and water here in Croftville. Whether you have mostly ice or mostly water can change from hour to hour.
February 2019
Feb 28: The last day of February and I am ready for March. We only had 2 thaw days all month and only 4 days that made it to 30 plus. There was lots of snow but not as much as southern Minnesota. But we already had a lot of snow on the ground so we still have far more that the southern parts of our state. Today is a light gray overcast with light snow coming down. This 1-2" daily accumulation has become quite common and annoying because of the required shoveling. Out low this morning was 2 degrees but it was already 11 degrees by sunrise. Lake Superior is mostly open water with ice chunks except for the first 50 feet from the shore which is stacked ice.
Feb 27: Out low this morning was once again 7 below and our high after the overcast burnt off and the sun was out was 25. We travled to Duluth today and the roads down were snow covered and slick. Duluth was cooler and only got into the teens on the hill in spite of the bright sun. The trip back the pavement was dry. Lake Superior was a kaleidoscope of colliding ice sheets and open water.
Feb 26: The lake has calmed down overnight and ice is beginning to form on the surface after temps getting down to 7 below last night. The open water still has the curlicues of steam rising into the dark cloud mass over the lake. Over Croftville, we have lightly overcast skies with the blue trying to take over. If the sun is able to burn off the overcast I expect we will get into the lower teens today. It is so nice to have the sun now rising earlier (getting light around 6am) and setting later (getting dark around 5:30pm).
Feb 25: The ice was gone this morning as the high winds and waves gradually chewed it up all the way to shore. Our low this morning was 7 below and with those frigid temps and open water we once again had the steam curlicues rising up into a dark cloud mass over the lake. Everywhere else we had clear blue skies overhead. The winds finally subsided a little before noon. The brght sune warmed us up all the way to 12 this afternoon.
Feb 24: Once again we had light snow overnight and light snow today accumulating less than 2". The wind began mid-morning and has picked up speed all day. Some of the gusts feel like they could blow that windows right outof the inn. Our high was 32 degrees when we woke up and has been steadily dropping through the day. We are now at 11 at 8pm. Skies are overcast and visibility during the gusts of wind is zero. It was white ice as far as I could see this morning but the ice is being broken away bit by bit by the wind and the rain. There is now less than a half mile of ice from the shore and I wouldn't be surprised to see it all broken up by morning.
Feb 23: There was light snow overnight and through the morning, maybe 2" of accumulation. Heavy snow is expected tonight. In the meantime, Lake Superior is frozen as far as we can see with patches of snow and dark ice. Skies are a light gray overcast. Our morning low was 26 and looks like our afternoon high is 31.
Feb 22: It is overcast today with snow flurries. It stayed warm overnight with a low of 26 and looks like the high will not get out of the 20's today after the warmth yesterday afternoon. Lake Superior is white with the fresh snow on the ice. It looks like the open water and broken up ice is about a half mile out.
Feb 21: It was shoveling day today after the hard snow yesterday late afternoon and into the night. The storm left us with 3-4 inches of fresh and fairly dense snow. The morning low was 23 but the afternoon high made it to 38. This is the first real thaw and our warmest temperatures since before Christmas. It was remarkable that these warm temps came without clear blue skies but gray overcast instead. Lake Superior is now white with the snow cover on it and patches of open water and separations in the ice sheets are now clearly visible.
Feb 20: It was snowing everywhere in Minnesota except here today. We had clear blue skies and temps hovering in the upper 20's. Lake Superior was dark ice for about a mile or so out. After that, there appears to be open water with ice chunks in it. The snow started here around 4pm and was all done by 10pm. We got 3-4" of new dense snow.
Feb 19: It was sunny with clear blue skies today. Our afternoon high was 25 and our morning low was 3. Lake Superior is clear dark ice as far out as we can see with stacked ice sheet ridges and open water channels weaving through the ice.
Feb 18: We got down to 1 degree last night and ice sheets either formed during the night also. The stacked ice near the shore glistened and even glowed in the moonlight. This morning I can see an ice sheet for the first half mile from shore. Teresa watched a wolf traveling along the shore and out on the ice. Skies are blue and clear and I expect the sun to warm things up like yesterday when we had a high of 23.
Feb 17: Our low overnight was 6 degrees bit with clear blue skies the sun has already warmed us up to 12 degrees by 8am. Lake Superior is a calm light blue this morning. During the night, ice shelves were grinding and cracking against the shore but the only sign of them this morning is some stacked ice close to the shore.
Feb 16: Today or high was 31 degrees again. Lake Superior is still and a dark blue as far as we can see. Five Mile Rock looks like it is floating above the lake today, this is not an uncommon optical illusion.
Feb 15: The wind during the night and this morning was gale force. It was amazing watching the trees whip back and forth. The ice on the lake was puverized by the wave action that I could see further out on Superior. Up close the strong north wind subdued any waves close to shore. The surface of Lake Superior looked like a kaleidoscope as the wind smashed the surface and then spread out moving the pulverized ice chunks around in the lake. Our low this morning was 11 and our high around noon was 31.
Feb 14: Our low was 24 and our high 31 today. 2-3" of fresh clumpy snow fell this afternoon dusting the ice on Lake Superior and making it look like a white desert. This morning the ice sheet was pushing toward shore with its familiar crocking and grinding sounds. A littlw ice got stacked about 30ft off the shoreline.
Feb 13: The ice drifted away last night. There was open water as far as I could see except for about a 10yd strip along the shore and a few ice sheet chunks (10'x10') floating around in the open water. About 200yds out there appeared to be some small chunks of ice floating around. Not enough to explain the missing ice which I think was blown toward the middle of the lake by a strong north wind. Nasty windchills in that wind this morning but by noon the winds began to subside and the sun in the clear blue skies pumped us up to 33 degrees after a morning low of 13.
Feb 12: The high was 25 today. Although skies were mostly overcast and there was a brisk breeze, it felt good to be outside in the warmer temps compared to what we have been having. Lake Superior near Croftville is now an ice sheet as far as we can see out. Today was the first day I did not see any patches of open water.
Feb 11: Our low was 8 this morning and we warmed up to 18 degrees. There were snow flurries or light snow most of the day but no noticable accumulation. The wind blew what snow came down around o much that it wasn't possible to tell how much we got and separate it from the loose snow already on the ground. Lake Superior has fewer and fewer patches of open water. It seems the ice sheets are taking over.
Feb 10: With a low of 5 and a high of 15 it was a pretty nice lightly overcast day today. Lake Superior has a lot of ice out there from Croftville. It looks like a barren wasteland out there until you find small open patches and currents passing through the ice fields.
Feb 9: Our frigid low last night was 8 below with clear star filled skies and a narrow crescent moon setting in the west. It was not surprising it got so cold but this morning with clear blue skies it also quickly warmed up with the sun. We are at 8 degrees at 11am. Lake Superior had sheet ice move in to cover the lake as far out as we can see today. Early this morning we could still see rivers of open water but the ice has now cloded up pretty tight.
Feb 8: The subzero stuff was back again last night. We had 2 below this morning with an afternoon high of 12. Snow shoveling proceded and took all morning for the 2 of us. Skies cleared up and were blue all afternoon. Lake Superior was mostly open still dark blue water today with little sheet ice visible near the shore.
Feb 7: We woke up at 18 degrees and a couple inches once again of fresh snow. By all appearances, the big storm seemed to have fizzled. Then the temps began to drop, the winds began to blow, and the snow began to fall. It is now 2pm and 8 degrees with a steady snow coming down and being blown everywhere by the wind. Lake Superior is mostly white sheet ice in fron of our place but the open patches of dark blue water are very noticable against the snow covered ice.
Feb 6: Temps warmed up overnight as a fresh 1-2" of snow again fell. It was 16 degrees this morning with gray overcast skies. Lake Superior is a frozen sheet of ice as far as my eyes can see. There are open water currents passing through it as the ice shifts. Heavy snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.
Feb 5: We had a low of 2 below this morning and an afternoon high of 13. Light accumulation of 1-2" fresh snow required another round of snow shoveling. Lake Superior was dark blue with gray overcast skies most of the morning. A huge region of sheet ice was moved westward past us grinding all the way for the afternoon.
Feb 4: We woke up to 9 degrees which appears may be the high of the day. The snowstorm that was predicted finally arrived around 5am but so far we have less than an inch. Doesn't look like we will get anywhere close to the 8 inches that was predicted. IT is snowing lightly now with a gray sky. Lake Superior has about 20 yards of stacked ice along the shore. After that it is dark blue water with broken ice sheets floating in it as far as I can see. The fresh snow makes the ice sheets white against the dark blue water.
Feb 3: Wow, we got yo 29 degrees today. Not quite freezing but probably the closest we will get to it over the next week. Our morning low was 16 and it was a gorgeous albeit gray overcast day to be outside. We went for a hike in our snowboots up the riverbed at the Kadunce. It was wondeful to see the rocky cliffs closing in on us as we went further and further up the bed. We could also hear and sometimes see the running water beneath us. Lake Superior had stacked sheet ice near the shore which had an irredescent blue color to it. With the large amount of ice, the lake stayed quite calm except for the current running eastward along the shore.
Feb 2: Our ice on Superior moved out of sight away from shore during the night. When the sun was rising this morning I could see a thin white line near the horizon that was the ice sheet. The sun didn't last long, gray overcast enveloped the sky and light snow began again after getting 2" of fresh snow late yesterday. Lake Superior is a greenish blue with a highly textured surface and small waves from the SE. Temps this morning were in the teens and should reach the 20's this afternoon. What a nice change from the high winds and brutally cold temps of the last week.
Feb 1: We had a high today of 17 so far and that is at 8pm. It was 13 below in the early morning hours and then began to steadily rise. We got above 0 around noon. Lake Superior woke us an hur before sunrise as the ice sheets started pushing and stacking on the shore. When the sun finally came up we could watch this vast sheet of ice grind eastward along the shore. The crackilng and stacking sounds were quite loud. Eventually the sheet began to separate from shore and for awhile this afternoon there was a quarter mile of open water. Snow began around 2pm which was light and steady. By 8pm we now have 2" of new accumulation.
January 2019
Jan 31: They are telling us this is the last day of this cold. We had a high yesterday of 6 below and a low this morning of 21 below down here next to the partially frozen Lake Superior. There are clear blue skies today and the dark cloud mass over the lake is beginning to dissipate. That might be because much of Lake Superior now has a frozen surface after this cold spell and much less steam is rising from open water. As the skies cleared during the night we could watch the crescent moon in the sky flanked by Venus and Jupiter. Much of Lake Superior is now white ice but the open water areas are still and a dull blue. It is 11am now and the temperature is still 10 below.
Jan 30: The brutal cold continues with 16 below this morning and no sign of it warming up today. Skies are a dark gray overcast. Lake Superor is a slurry of ice sheets, dark bluish gray water, steam whirlwinds rising, and a calm surface. The wind during the night howled through our high efficiency double hung windows and knocked anything not secured to the ground all over the place last night. These high winds have continues into today with nasty wind chills adding to the already cold conditions.
Jan 29: The cold spell has a hold of us with 17 below right now in the evening. The slightly warmer temps ovenight allowed some snow to fall but the winds came at the same time so it is impossible to tell just how much snow we got, probably around 3". Our high was at midnight around 5 above but by sunrise it was 3 below and dropped steadily all day long. In spite of the cold, more snow fell in the afternoon which is quite unusual, I suspect it had something to do with Lake Superior. Lake Superior was a mix of steam rising, dark cloud masses, thin ice sheets, high winds buffeteing the surface, and small 1ft waves from the SE.
Jan 28: I went to bed last night at 13 below but come morning it was only 9 below. I could see the ice sheets move in and out from shore in the moonlight. Today it was more of the same except the lake had 1ft waves from the SSE that was working at breaking some of the ice up. Around noon we left the below zero temps and by sunset we were at our high of 9 degrees above zero. Not too much wind today but they are expecting colder temps and high winds and extreme windchills tomorrow.
Jan 27: The frigid temps turned a notch even colder last night. Our low was 22 below about an hour after sunrise this morning. The mostly sunny blue skies overhead are warming things up but we are still 2 below at 2pm. The skies have a scattering of small white cumulus clouds except over the lake which has the dark cloud mass over it. It got so cold that our propane tank at 20% full could not supply enough propane to keep all our gas stoves and appliances running properly. Lake Superior is a shimmering silver blue with thin ice sheets forming near the shore.
Jan 26: Our subzero spell continues. Our high yesterday was 2 below and our low overnight was around midnight at 13 below. By morning temps started rising and right now at 9am we are at 6 below. Lake Superior has grown some waves overnight with 1-2ft silver gray waves from the SSW pushing against the ice drift on the shoreline. Overhead we have an overcast bluish gray sky.
Jan 25: It was 11 below here by the lake last night and we are at 7 below at noon. I don't think we will get to zero today. The blizzard like winds of yesterday have completely dissipated today. We have mostly blue and still skies overhead except for the cloud mass over Lake Superior forming as the little whirlwinds of steam rise off the lake surface. Lake Superior is also still and that stillness has allowed the formation of small ice sheets on the flat surface.
Jan 24: We went to bed with a temp of 16 last night. Overnight temps slowly went down to 12 by morning. Today the temps continued their slide and we are not at 2 degrees at sunset. It was still enough both with the waves and the air for a thin layer of ice to form by this morning. That changed when the strong winds began around 10am. The ice was quickly broken up and absorbed by the lake as the wind pelted the surface. We are expected to drop below zero tonight but the wind chills are expected to be much, much colder.
Jan 23: We had a low of 10 and a high of 28 today. There was some sun, there was some snow flurries. Lake Superior had 1-3ft silky smooth waves from the SSW today. We traveled to Duluth and saw that the lake near Duluth was ice covered with about 6" of white snow on top from yesterday.
Jan 22: Most of the ice on the lake yesterday has been reabsorbed. There are still some broken drifts of ice partially piles on the shore and there are some chunks of ice still boobing up and down in a 50ft band along the shore. Snow began in the night and this morning we had about 3" of fluffy snow accumulated with a strong snow still coming down. It is supposed to end by noon and we will probably end up with about 6" of light fresh snow. It was coming down so heavy at dawn that the white outside the windows gave the illusion of fog inside our inn. Yesterday's high finally got up to 18 but the temp when I got up this morning was already 22. 22 degrees has been steady all morning.
Jan 21: I went to bed last night and it was 7 below but when I woke up this morning it was 11 above. There is a change in the weather today. We have mostly cloudy skies with patches of blue coming through. Last night we had a dusting of fresh snow and then the winds picked up howling and whistling through our windows and banging the snow shovels hanging on the walls. By early morning ice had drifted in from out on the lake pushed by the wind. Around sunrise, 3-4ft waves from the SSW began churning the sheets of ice and throwing their broken shards up on the shore creating a drift of ice. The first 100ft from the shore looks like a molten ice slurry against the blue green water. This is the first ice we have seen on the lake surface this winter.
Jan 20: And another low for the winter at 15 below this morning in Croftville. There is plenty of sun and the wind has subsided so the 3 degree afternoon high with blue skies and still air feels pretty good. Lake Superior has a blue textured surface except for the blinding silver reflections of the sun off the lake surface.
Jan 19: The cold continues with 10 below this morning as once again the coldest morning of the winter. Our afternoon high was about 4 degrees. Lake Superior is a shimmering blue against sunny blue skies. The only exception is the cloud mass over the middle of the lake.
Jan 18: The coldest morning of the season today at 7 below down here by the lake in Croftville. Lake Superior has a calm surface and for the first time this winter we have the familiar whirlwinds of steam rising off the lake forming a cloud over the middle of the lake. This is a familiar phenomenon when we get well below zero, we just haven't had any below zero temps this season. We also have the gusts of wind coming off the hill and hitting the lake. You can watched the gusts as they move across and push against the water deforming the surface.
Jan 17: We got down to 7 overnight but by morning it was back yo 12 degrees. It is 19 at 2pm. This morning was gray overcast and snow flurries. It looked like the sun from yesterday was only a memory, but this afternoon the sun was out once again with just wisps of clouds in a sea of blue. Lake Superior is a silvery blue with a rippled surface and just the slightest hint of waves from the SE. The Soo Locks are now closed and the lake seems surprisingly lonely without the occasional freighter passing by.
Jan 16: It was our coldest morning by Lake Superior this winter season yet at 2 below. Temps dropped rapidly last night and the skies cleared to see the stars. Our high today should be in the teens. Today we have sun for the first time in many days and almost clear blue skies with just a few wisps of clouds. Lake Superior is a shiny blue with a rippled surface against an alomost white horizon line. It is quite a testimony to how warm this winter is that it is Jan 16 before we get to 2 below.
Jan 15: We had a low of 13 and a high of 27 today. There were big 3-6ft greenish blue waves being churned up from the south. Overhead it was a gray overcast day with light snow coming down intermittently.
Jan 14: Stayed 30 degrees overnight. We have big fluffy flakes of snow falliing this morning. So far, it is less than an inch accumulation. Skies overhead are a light gray overcast. Lake Superior is a blue gray with 1-3ft waves from the south. The lake disappears into the light gray overcast without any horizon line.
Jan 13: It warmed up overnight and we woke up to 30 degrees. Temps have hovered right at freezing through the morning. Lake Superior has worked itself up overnight as well. We have 3-4ft dark blue green waves from the south. Overhead we have gray overcast skies but we can see clear bright skies on the southern horizon in northern Wisconsin. I wonder if that weather is coming our way?
Jan 12: Our morning low was 3 and our afternoon high was 27. It was a gray overcast with snow flurries most of the day. Lake Superior was a dark blue gray with 1-2ft waves from the SE. Spent the day at a high school cross country ski meet up on the Pincushion Mountain trails. 270 kids participated under pretty good conditions for a classic race.
Jan 11: Snow started last night and left us with 2" of fluffy snow acculmulation this morning. Just enough for some light shoveling. Flurries came down all day but without any significant accumulation here along the shore in Croftville. Skies have be a light gray overcast all day. Lake Superior is a dark blue gray with 1-2ft waves from the SE on a textured lake surface. High today was 27 after a morning low of 18.
Jan 10: It was 3 this morning and a gorgeous yellow, orange, and purple sunrise. We have partly cloudy skies with high cirrus clouds today. Lake Superior is a dark blue except where the sun is reflecting off of it. The surface is smooth with 1-2ft rolloer waves from the SE.
Jan 9: The low was 8 and the high 23 today. There were 3 ships passing by at one time during the night. Today had white overcast skies with snow flurries. Lake Superior was a bluish gray with 1-2ft waves from the SSE. Ice covers all driveways, sidewalks, and streets. Only the main arteries are mostly clear of ice.
Jan 8: There was some sun this morning but it changed to overcast skies by mid-day. It was 29 this morning and temps have gradullay declined through the day. Right now it is 24 at 2pm. Lake Superior is a greenish gray with 1-2ft waves from the south. I saw 2 ore freighters passing by this morning. I haven't yet heard the day the Soo Locks will close for the season although it is usually in the latter half of January which is no longer far away.
Jan 7: There are huge 4-6ft chocolate waves from the SE pounding the shore. The chocolate band turns to a grayish green a couple hundred yards out. 10" of wet sloppy snow came down in a blizzard last night. Every surface and crevice regardless of orientation is covered with this heavy snow. At 3pm we are only about half way through it. It will be a late night since the shoveling cannot wait for tomorrow when the temps begin to drop. Today we woke up to 32 and our high this afternoon was 40 next to the lake. Temps are already beginning to recede, not much time left before this stuff turns to ice.
Jan 6: Temps cooled back down below frezing last night. Our low was 19 and our high today is 26. Skies are a gray overcast. Lake Superior has a highly textured surface with 2-3ft green gray waves from the SE.
Jan 5: We had a morning low of 30 and an afternoon high of 39 in a repeat of yesterday. There were mostly cloudy skies and a gray Lake Superior with 1-2ft waves.
Jan 4: After a morning low of 31 we are topping out this afternoon at 39 dgrees here in Croftville next to Lake Superior. We have had mostly sunny skies today and the warm temps are knocking loose the ice that had cemented itself to our stairways after last week's winter storm. Lake Superior is a shiny light silvery blue today with 1-2ft waves from the SSW.
Jan 3: I woke up to 28 and light rain this morning as it warmed up over the night. Our high eventually hit 34 but only after leaving us with a coating of about a half inch of ice on most of our horizontal surfaces. Gravel did the trick in the short term but I hear the ice will melt away with warm temps the next couple days. Skies were a white overcast today and Lake Superior was mostly calm with a light gray surface.
Jan 2: We started the morning in Prior Lake just SW of Minneapolis with temps 16 degrees. Then we watched the temps slowly drop to 8 degrees by the time we got to Duluth for our daughter's cross country ski race at Spirit Mountain. That was pretty cold but then the snow began to fall and temps began to rise. By the time our daughter left the starting gates it was snowing and 18 degrees.(I was still cold but I was just underdressed.) The gray skies and light snow continued to Grand Marais. It was interesting to see that the afteraffects of the winter storm 1 week ago still had ice on the roadways from Two Harbors onward. Our high today in Grand Marais was 20.
Jan 1: Happy 2019. My body didn't even get close to midnight to welcome the new year in. All the snow shoveling, my cold, and the long drive pretty much knocked me out. It is so cold and I am battling a cold. Not a good combination. The overnight low in Croftville was 1 below zero, about the same as Prior Lake where we spent the night in the twin cities. However, I am sure it was much colder away from Lake Superior here in Cook County.