Break out your goggles and buckle up your boots – winter’s returning with a vengeance. NOAA predicts above-average snowfall for the 2025-26 winter season, with the Great Lakes region expecting to see an extra 14-26 inches of precipitation over the annual average. States outside the Great Lakes region will generally see drier and warmer weather in comparison, but the Huskies will have plenty of snow to play with.
Mont Ripley may open to skiers as early as Dec. 13, depending on snow conditions. As of today, no date is confirmed, but Huskies anxious to hit the slopes should check their website daily for updates. Mount Bohemia similarly has no publicly stated opening date as of publishing.
NOAA identifies the La Niña climate pattern as the main driver of the snowfall, noting that “La Niña winters tend to be banner years for snow across western Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and the northern Rockies. Snowfall also was above-average across the Great Lakes into northern New England.” Though the effect is expected to be less apparent than last year, NOAA’s predictions “favor La Niña through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2025-26,” meaning Houghton can expect a winter more similar to 24-25 than 23-24.
Dry winters take a toll on the Upper Peninsula’s tourism industry. 2023-24 saw 153 inches of snow, with Mont Ripley, Bohemia, and several other local ski resorts cutting hours and closing early. Mount Bohemia relies entirely on natural snowfall, and thus set a record for earliest-ever closure on Mar. 3, 2023. Visit Keweenaw reported a 38.8% occupancy rate for U.P. hospitality in January 2023, significantly lower than the same month a year later, with 57.1% occupancy in January 2024. So dire was the 2023 snowfall that the federal Small Business Administration offered $2 million interest-free emergency loans to UP businesses most affected by the drought.
Winter 2024-2025 marked a rebound in U.P. snowfall compared to the previous year. At 315 inches, last year represents by far the largest total snowfall out of the past 5 years, well above the next closest 275 inches from 2022-23. Stimulating both the economy and cabin-fevered Huskies, snowsports lovers’ wishes may be granted once again for this upcoming cold and snowy winter.
