MINNEAPOLIS - We're in the midst of a snow drought and help may not be on the way... yet.
You have to go back more than a decade to find the last time the Twin Cities had less snowfall at this time. Forget the recent sub-zero temps, the real reason to complain around the Twin Cities this winter is the serious lack of snowfall.
"They're all waiting just like we are," said Austin Bartz, who is usually spending the first week of January putting the finishing touches on a giant snow sculpture with his brothers.
"This is going to be our seventh year of doing it if it indeed does happen," said Trevor Bartz. "Last year there was a huge sculpture right here and I was kind of working on the middle section of it."
That popular fish sculpture helped the brothers raise more than $20,000 for charity. This year, the yard is empty and they're simply trying to find enough good snow to get started.
"We just got such short increments that it never got enough to be able to build it," said Connor Bartz.
The biggest single snowfall in Minneapolis this year is just two inches, and that's not just a drag for snow sculptors. The Loppet Foundation has had to make a lot of snow to keep cross-country ski meets running at Theodore Wirth Park.
"It is a large bummer, normally Wirth has a trail system of like 50k or so, which is 30 miles of trails," said Andy Harris, a high schooler working with the Loppet Foundation. "But we're really limited to like 5k, three miles, that we can ski on."
At this time of year, the average snowfall in Minneapolis is 25.3 inches. Right now, there has only been 7.2 inches of snow, which is 18 inches below normal. For perspective, you have to go back 11 years to find the last time there has been less snowfall.
"In 2007 we had 4.5 inches of snow by this time," said National Weather Service meteorologist, Alexandra Keclik.
Despite the snow drought, Keclik says the state will likely recover somewhat soon.
"January is typically our snowiest month for the Twin Cities," She said. "There is hope."
But Twin Cities residents hoping to see that recovery comes during the next snowfall on Wednesday night shouldn't expect to see much more than two inches.
"The system has shifted so most of the snow will go to our southeast again," Keclik said.
The Loppet will manage just fine in the meantime.
"Luckily we do have man-made snow here at Wirth, so we're able to run these meets throughout the year," Harris said.
The Bartz brothers don't have the luxury of snow machines... or time.
"My brothers, Trevor and Connor, go back to school on Sunday," Austin Bartz said. "So we have to do this sculpture in four days."
"We're hoping to at least get four or three inches so we can possibly build one," Connor Bartz said.
If not, they might be building something much smaller.
"Yeah, we could build a snowman," Connor Bartz said, with a laugh.
Despite the snow drought, Keclik says the actual precipitation since this fall is still right around normal. In fact, she says it's not actually a bad thing because local rivers were very high in the fall and the snow drought reduces the threat of flooding in the spring.