Is there mining in that area?
There is a very good reason I left MN behind me when I retired and these threads are reinforcing my decision. In the 40+ years I spent there I remember two winters in particular when living in Finland on the north shore of Lake Superior inland from Silver Bay. One was the snow winter. Only reason you knew you were snowmobiling over your junk cars in the back forty was because you'd see an occasional antenna tip. Then there was the year of the cold. A guy who lived in Isabella MN kept track of temps every day and every night. We had 45 days in a row where day or night temps never got above 0. Those two years stand out and it was before we knew we were in a Polar Vortex.
Kind of sounds like the north is doing it's best to combine those two winters this year into one "to be remembered and talked about" winter. The only snow we got here was gone in two days. All 1 1/2" of it. It has been the coldest winter most of the family down here remembers tho.
We are setting records here....but I seem to remember winters being like this all the time as a youngster. I think the NE just got spoiled with light snowfall over the past 10years or so.
That's what I remember as well. When I was a kid, there was snow on the ground most of the winter. We'd go sledding and such just about every day, at least during Jan and Feb. Most backyards in my neighborhood had ice skating rinks, that again lasted all winter.
Childhood memories aside, I remember in later years that it wasn't unheard of to have one's ice fishing auger botom out on the handle because the ice was so thick.
As you say, the past ten years or so (not counting this year) were definitely less sever than what I had been used to seeing.
"People tend to get the politicians and the fishing tackle they deserve" -
John Gierach, Fishing Bamboo
http://www.tenkaraflyfish.blogspot.com/
Moved to Cape Cod to dodge the worst of MA winters (central MA)......not this year!