Twin Cities winter (Minneapolis, Duluth, Cleveland: how much, home, camp)

[shadowfax2012]

Hi all, I'm contemplating a move to the twin cities area, and have been reading through the forums, which have been very helpful. I'll be moving from the Cleveland area, and wanted to get a sense of how bad the winters will be compared to Cleveland. Cleveland winters are cold, but don't typically go below zero, and we have been getting a fair but not ridiculous amount of snow in recent years. The worst thing about Cleveland winters are the endless gray skies. From what I can gather, the twin cities winters are colder, but sunnier than Cleveland, and overall I get the sense that despite the colder temps, the winters might be more tolerable in the twin cities area. Any thoughts from people who have lived or visited both cities in the winter would be helpful. Just want to know what to expect before I make the move.

And how bad/unwise would it be to make the move in December weather?

Thanks!

[golfgal]

In MN the gray skies mean warmer temps in the winter so it isn't a bad thing. I don't think they are dark and gloomy gray either. We get our fair share of sun in the winter as well, but again, the clear days bring colder temps. I don't think that day to day you will notice much difference in the temperatures here outside of a handful of days here and there that do get below zero and sometimes well below zero (factoring in wind chill). Snow here has been hit or miss. Two winters ago we had 80" at our house, last winter, if you can even call it that, we had 12". Average is around 50" though.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by golfgal

In MN the gray skies mean warmer temps in the winter so it isn't a bad thing. I don't think they are dark and gloomy gray either. We get our fair share of sun in the winter as well, but again, the clear days bring colder temps. I don't think that day to day you will notice much difference in the temperatures here outside of a handful of days here and there that do get below zero and sometimes well below zero (factoring in wind chill). Snow here has been hit or miss. Two winters ago we had 80" at our house, last winter, if you can even call it that, we had 12". Average is around 50" though.

My wife is from the Caribbean & when we moved back to Mn from there two winters ago I took her to the library & told her I'd pick her up in a couple hours. She got bored, tried to walk home & dang near got frostbite. I asked why she didn't call for a ride & she said she looked out the window & it was sunny so she thought she could walk it.

[dravogadro]

Do you end up with a lot of lake effect snow in Cleveland? I spent time in upstate NY and it was always super dreary and gray. I love that the winters in Minnesota can have bluebird skies; it really lifts the spirits, even if I know it means the windchill is -20F.

December can be hit or miss, weather-wise. I feel that it doesn't get *really* cold until January. It may have snowed by then though.

If you hang out with people that complain about the weather, you will just feel bad about it constantly. Just embrace it, and find things to do. There are tons of outdoor and indoor sports and plenty of other activities to do. I think if you make an effort to go out in the cold, you adjust to it, and it's really not that big of a deal.

However, I think if you are not able-bodied, winters can be quite difficult. Some people do not clear their sidewalks and it can sometimes border on ridiculous on how difficult it can be to get off of at some bus stops. I usually have to aid 2-3 individuals every year that have lost traction in their wheelchairs and are stuck.

[Astron1000]

Usually November is the grayest month with December close behind but it's been unpredictable over the last few years. In February it's about 60% sunny vs. cloudy.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

I'm from Minneapolis but live in Cleveland currently, so I feel like I could be of big help to you!

Firstly, I must tell you that I've only lived in Cleveland a year now and have experienced only last winter (which was quite mild and snowless, I'm told). But I have heard a lot about what the winters are SUPPOSED to be like, and I can tell you what I experienced, phenomenon or no.

In Cleveland, the skies are PERPETUALLY gray and the air is usually thick with moisture (from the lake, I presume?). It wasn't all that cold temperature-wise but with that moisture I got the shivers probably MORE often here than I did in Minneapolis. When you think of Minneapolis "cold", think of walking into a freezer -- the air is very dry and only hits you skin deep. Places like Chicago or Cleveland have wetter, heavier air that isn't as cold but soaks deep into your body and causes your body temp to drop much quicker than in MN (almost no matter how cold the air gets). I'd guess that 0 degrees in Mpls would be like 25 with a damp 10 mph wind blowing here in Cleveland. That may surprise some people or it may not, and it's just my personal perception. Minneapolis winters are FAR sunnier too, for whatever reason. I've heard that if it's too cold that moisture simply can't stay in the air and evaporates and can lead to sunnier days. The cloudiest months are usually November and May, and the sunniest are July and JANUARY! BTW, July is borderline hot in Minneapolis, hotter than Cleveland by a solid 2 degrees or so on average.....don't be fooled because it's further North! The major drawback of MN winters are two-fold: 1.) the dry air wreaks havoc on your skin, almost no matter the person. It's incredibly annoying to me personally and the only way to stay ahead of it is to be very on top of moisturizing yourself DAILY! 2.) the winters last longer than just about every other part of the country, and often times when Spring starts to sprout green grass and leaves in other cities Minneapolis will be a good 2+ weeks behind, and sometimes that's a very agonizing 2+ weeks.....watching others escape from winter's grasp!

To summarize, I prefer Minneapolis winters pretty easily to Cleveland's. The major reason for this is the fact that I can skate, ski, sled, etc. whenever I want/need to in Minneapolis and there are far more venues to choose from to do so. Cleveland gets lots of snow but it melts almost immediately and I HATE that because I can't enjoy it for long. On the plus side though, when the snow melts you don't have as much brown, nasty snow as you will find in MN, and the grass actually stays green all year round (which I found fascinating, btw -- Minneapolis is a very brown and white place in winter!).

One final thing: for whatever reasons, people from Ohio who come to Minnesota have not historically fared well there. A lot of people I've talked to from Ohio don't like the cold, don't like the isolation, don't like this or that and try to tell me how much better Ohio was for them. I find it a bit odd but it seems to be a trend with people I've met (maybe I'm the exception and everyone else really has a positive attitude about Mpls or MN?). I just wanted to put that out there to demonstrate that I have no strong bias for or against you moving to MN, and I wanted to be honest with you and keep your expectations at bay (whatever your expectations are). It's usually better to exceed expectations than to not meet them, no matter how high the bar is set!

Good luck, and welcome to MN!

P.S. I think Cleveland is a kick-a$$ city but it seems like nobody else here knows it! I like the city (wish it was in MN, like in place of Duluth or near it), but miss Minneapolis a lot.

P.P.S. Last winter in Minneapolis all 3 winter months (Dec, Jan, Feb) averaged above 30 for high temps, and March was, well.....we won't forget THAT March in the Midwest!

[reticentwebdev]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

I'm from Minneapolis but live in Cleveland currently, so I feel like I could be of big help to you!

Bringing this thread back from the grave just to say thanks! I am definitely in the camp of "bitter cold and clear" vs the "slightly warmer and cloudy" crowd. So this info was hugely helpful! I've been eyeballing Cleveland pretty heavily based on a lot of positive press here on the forums, and this is definitely making me take a second thought.

Did you end up sticking around in the Cleveland area, or has MN called you back?