Although it is the month of December in Minnesota, a minuscule amount of snow has blanketed the ground of Cottage Grove. 0.1 total inches have been recorded at Cottage Grove’s NCDC station between December 1st and December 11th. This statistic sharply contrasts usual precipitation patterns. From 1981 to 2010, the NOAA National Climatic Data Center calculated that 10 inches of snow is average for a Twin Cities December. With the winter and holiday season in full swing, The Journal sought to understand how Cottage Grove is dealing with the bizarre absence of snow.

To begin with, families in Cottage Grove vary in their opinions surrounding snow. The Journal spoke with three different ones and discovered a wide range of emotions. On one end of the spectrum, stood Savannah. She stated frankly, “I don’t like it.”

Therefore, the lack of snow has not been an issue for Savannah. She and her mother, Kailey, have delighted in going outside without it being “miserable”. Even though Savannah didn’t show a passion for snow, she still admitted that not having a “White Christmas” was a drag.

Ken, Lauren, and Will expressed a greater tolerance for snow, calling it “okay as long as it’s not too cold”. Even so, the unimpressive 0.1 inches of snowfall has impacted them. Traditions in their family of building snow forts and sledding have not been possible so far this winter. Also, Ken’s family has needed to delay performing a new outdoor passtime. “We were going to go snowshoeing, maybe, but can’t really do that when there’s no snow.”

Remy and Robin could likely relate to the disappointment of Ken, Will, and Lauren. Remy apprised The Cottage Grove Journal with passion, “I like snow.”

Zero snow for little Remy means that she doesn’t get to ski or build snowmen. After Robin listed these activities that she was missing out on, Remy exclaimed, “It won’t work!”

If typical snowy activities are not working for the residents of Cottage Grove, what have they been doing to stay spirited this December? Perhaps, like Savannah and Kailey, they have been playing indoors more frequently or continuing the endeavors they love about summer. Ken’s family elaborated on this idea, “We’re going on walks and riding our bikes a lot later than normal because there’s no snow. Play a lot of board games.”

Remy and Robin have been making the most of Cottage Grove’s weather conditions as well. First of all, they set up outdoor Christmas lights with ease. Most notably, though, they took their favorite snow activities and placed them in an indoor setting. Robin spelled out, “We play a lot more inside, build forts inside…”

After investigating how the people of Cottage Grove have been coping with Jack Frost’s disappearance, The Journal had one question remaining; when will more snow descend? Every participant was confident that this would occur in January or February. Remy contradicted, “When it’s Christmas it can snow…Because Santa’s got magic, magic so we can get snow down to the ground.”

Perhaps Remy is correct. Maybe Santa will deliver both toys and Minnesotan snow on the night before Christmas. Until then, Cottage Grove proceeds to make the most of the season, regardless of Mother Nature’s patterns.