Weather
Two cold-season systems will keep the northern half of the Midwest active through Sunday, with the meaningful snow focused on northern Minnesota, the U.P., and far northern Wisconsin while the Lower Michigan and central Wisconsin hills spend much more time mixed or wet. Confidence is strongest from Thursday morning, April 2, through Sunday afternoon, April 5, when timing agreement is best and snow levels stay low enough for meaningful accumulation at Lutsen, Giants Ridge, Whitecap, and Mount Bohemia. Expect dense to moderate storm snow rather than true fluff, plus two windy periods that will matter most near Lake Superior and exposed terrain. After that, a smaller wave may add light snow Sunday night into Monday before midweek turns milder and more springlike.
The first round runs Thursday through Friday morning, and the guidance is tightly clustered on timing, low snow levels, and the strongest wind impacts across the colder northern hills. Lutsen and Giants Ridge look set for 5-6 in, while Whitecap and Mount Bohemia are closer to 6-9 in by Friday morning. Snow levels stay at or near the surface there, and SLRs mostly run 8-12:1, so this should come in as dense to moderate snow instead of light powder. Afton can squeeze out 1-2 in, but Granite Peak and the open Lower Michigan hills sit on the warm side with snow levels rising well above summit level after onset, which keeps accumulation limited. Most guidance also agrees on gusts of 35-55 mph near Lake Superior and exposed ridges, so visibility and lift comfort will take a hit at times.
The second system arrives Friday night and tapers late Saturday night into early Sunday, and the guidance still converges on another north-favored snow event even as it diverges more on exact band placement and totals. The steadiest corridor again favors Lutsen and Giants Ridge at about 7-11 in, with Mount Bohemia also around 7-11 in and Whitecap nearer 4-7 in. Whitecap is the trickiest call because several solutions hold it near the rain-snow line for a time before crashing colder Saturday night, while Lutsen and Giants Ridge stay more cleanly snow. SLRs again mostly sit in the 8-12:1 range, so this looks like another solid refresher rather than blower conditions. Open Lower Michigan terrain remains on the warm edge with only a slushy coating to perhaps 0-1 in. Mount Bohemia is forecast to do very well on paper, but it is temporarily closed, which leaves Lutsen and Giants Ridge as the clearest open-resort beneficiaries.
From Sunday night into Monday, confidence drops a notch as the next clipper is better defined in timing than intensity, with the widest spread centered on northern Wisconsin and the Lake Superior belt. Most guidance keeps this wave light for Lutsen, Giants Ridge, Boyne, Nub’s Nob, and Granite Peak, generally around 0-1 in, while Whitecap has the most upside if the colder solutions win out at roughly 3-5 in. Where it does snow, ratios look a bit lighter than the weekend systems, generally closer to 10-13:1. Behind that wave, lows fall into the teens and 20s and highs stay mostly in the 20s and 30s early week before 40s spread back north and some lower hills reach the 50s by midweek. The broader pattern then leans warmer overall but not fully dry, so expect more spring surfaces between systems and only low-confidence snow chances late in the period.
Resort Forecast Totals (Thu Apr 02 – Sun Apr 05)
- Mount Bohemia – 13-19 in
- Giants Ridge – 12-17 in
- Lutsen Mountains – 12-16 in
- Whitecap Mountain – 11-15 in
- Afton Alps – 2 in
- Boyne Mountain – 0-1 in
- The Highlands at Harbor Springs – 0 in
- Nub’s Nob – 0 in
- Granite Peak – 0 in
- Cascade Mountain – 0 in
