Ski Report

Lutsen Mountains snow report

Iowa, United States Tofte
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As of 2022-11-21
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Lutsen Mountains -- Iowa ski resort
Lutsen Mountains Iowa · Tofte
About this resort

Lutsen Mountains

Lutsen Mountains is a ski resort in Minnesota featuring 95 runs spread across four interconnected mountains. The resort has a few signature runs like the Double Black Diamond Moose Mountain and the scenic, wide runs of Eagle Mountain. Few people know that Lutsen's longest run, "The Big Daddy," is over 5km long. For beginners, a good starting point is the 1.5 km run of "Bridge Run," where they can take in views of Lake Superior. The resort's bar called Papa Charlie's is a popular apres ski spot, serving drinks and live music.

Terrain mix: The main mountain range at Lutsen Mountains ski resort in Minnesota is the Sawtooth Mountains. The resort features four main mountains: Eagle Mountain, Moose Mountain, Mystery Mountain, and Ullr Mountain. These mountains provide a variety of terrain for skiers and snowboarders, including groomed runs, tree runs, and challenging black diamond slopes. Additionally, Lutsen Mountains has the highest vertical drop in the Midwest at 825 feet.

StateIowa
LocationTofte
Base elevation1,089 ft
Summit elevation1,913 ft
Skiable acreage1,000 acres
Lifts10
Runs92
Longest run10,558 ft
Opened1948
Terrain parkYes
Night skiingNo
Detailed forecast

Plan your day down to the hour

Same weather feed Snoflo's iOS app uses -- updated continuously from NOAA / yr.no. Watch the snow column the morning of a storm to know when to call in sick.

Hourly detail

Next 5 days, hour by hour

Temperature line with weather symbols on top, snow + rain accumulation as columns, humidity as a dotted line.

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Deep dive

5-day forecast table

Every 3 hours, broken out across temperature, snow, rain, humidity, and wind. Each cell is colour-coded relative to the column min/max.

TimeConditionTemp (°F)Snow (in)Rain (in)Humidity (%)Wind (mps)Wind dir
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Long-term outlook

15-day temperature & snow

Daily temperatures, snow, and rain projected over the next two weeks -- start of next storm cycle, end of last one.

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Forecast discussion

What forecasters are seeing

Plain-English forecast narrative from the local NWS office. Issued by NWS DVN.

568 FXUS63 KDVN 280641 CCA AFDDVN Area Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL 140 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Pleasant warm afternoons and cool mornings will continue into next week, with little to no chance of any rain. - Drought conditions likely developing and persisting through next week. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Issued at 124 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026 As expected, showers and thunderstorms last evening over WI fizzled out by 930pm as the storms lost their support and moved into drier air. 06z RAP analysis depicted a large 1025mb surface high centered over Ontario encompassing the northern Great Lakes. A backdoor cool front was just beginning to enter our eastern CWA over northwest IL, with dewpoints in the 40s reported behind it over northeast IL. Temperatures at 1am, were in the upper 60s/low 70s. Another beautiful day with comfortable humidity is in store for the region, as the aforementioned cool front makes its way west through the CWA. With a very dry airmass in place, passing high clouds, and mixing down similar 850mb temps/winds as we had yesterday, temperatures should rebound quickly into the 70s this morning and top out in the mid to upper 80s this afternoon. Tonight...high pressure builds into the region as a weak wave remains well to our west over the central Plains. Dewpoints to drop into the 40s area-wide and with mostly clear skies, will allow temperatures to drop into the 50s. Time to give the AC a break and open those windows! && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 124 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026 Little to no change in the extended, with continued dry and warm conditions through the period. Highs in the 80s and lows in the upper 40s/50s can be expected each day with comfortable humidity levels. A weak shortwave will track across the central Plains on Friday and lift into western IA, leading to an increase in clouds. Most model solutions have less than 15% PoPs, with the exception of the 00z deterministic ECMWF. With such a dry airmass in place, thinking this solution is an outlier and that the dry easterly flow from the 1023mb high over the Great Lakes will win out and keep any precip to our west through at least Saturday. Also of note, the NBM has minRH values below 40% and dewpoints under 60 degrees each day through the extended. Ensemble and deterministic guidance continue to support the Omega block to remain through the middle of next week. The west coast upper low will eventually lift northeast over MT and southwest Canada early next week and progress eastward allowing for the ridge to start to break down (height falls). A semi-zonal flow will result with a few waves tracking over the northern Plains and upper Midwest that could bring us some rain albeit not likely beneficial. As a result, drought conditions are likely to worsen/expand over the coming weeks. In addition, the latest 6-10 and 8-14 day precip outlooks for the Climate Prediction Center have 70-80% combined probabilities of near/below normal precipitation going through the 1st week of June. Unfortunately, it will be a while before liquid gold (rain) comes back into the forecast. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 1145 PM CDT Wed May 27 2026 VFR conditions to prevail through the period. Winds to remain light becoming easterly behind a dry fropa this morning. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...None. IL...None. MO...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Gross LONG TERM...Gross AVIATION...Gross

Mountain & avalanche safety

Know before you go
Check today's avalanche bulletin from the regional avalanche center before any off-piste / side-country / backcountry travel. Conditions can shift dramatically between morning and afternoon on storm days.
Carry the gear, know how to use it
Beacon, shovel, probe. Practice companion rescue on a calm day, not during a real burial.
Mind the weather window
Heavy snow + wind builds wind slabs at ridgelines. The day after a storm is often the riskiest in the backcountry, even if the resort itself is open.
Respect closed terrain
Ropes are there for a reason. Even in-bounds, ducking a closure can trigger a slide that catches you and others below.

Track Lutsen Mountains in the Snoflo app

Save this resort as a favorite, set push alerts when snowfall crosses a threshold (e.g. "alert me when Lutsen Mountains reports 6″ new"), and Snoflo's iOS app will push the moment the SNOTEL station crosses.

FAQ

About Lutsen Mountains

Where does the snow data for Lutsen Mountains come from?

Snowpack, SWE, 24-hour snowfall, and air temperature come from the nearest USDA NRCS SNOTEL station. Forecast comes from the National Weather Service / yr.no feed that Snoflo's iOS app uses.

How often is the snow report updated?

Snowpack and SNOTEL data are updated continuously by NRCS (typically hourly). The 15-day weather forecast is refreshed throughout the day. Snoflo caches and renders the most recent observation -- look for the "as of" timestamp on the snowpack hero.

What's the elevation at Lutsen Mountains?

See the Resort Metrics panel above for base / summit / vertical drop. The summit elevation drives snowpack accumulation -- higher summits hold snow longer through spring.

How is "% of normal" calculated?

Today's snowpack is compared to the average snowpack on this calendar day across every recorded year at the nearest SNOTEL. 100% means right on average; 130% is a big year; 60% is thin.

What ski resorts are near Lutsen Mountains?

See the Other Ski Areas pill grid at the bottom of the page for resorts within driving distance. The sister Other Ski Areas card in the Plan-a-longer-trip grid above shows the closest few.

Can I get alerts when fresh snow hits?

Yes -- snow alerts are managed in the Snoflo iOS app. Favorite this resort, set a snowfall threshold (e.g. "alert me when 6+ inches"), and you'll get a push the moment the SNOTEL crosses.

More ski areas

Other resorts near here

Snoflo-tracked ski areas within driving distance of Lutsen Mountains.