when can i shred
Dakotas & Iowa

Normally Oct 11

Snowmaking weather normally reaches Black Hills around Oct 11, 41 days away.

That is the whole estimate, and it is the weather rather than a resort. No opening date for any resort here is on file yet, so there is nothing to project from. The chart and the tiles below are the same ones the Minnesota page runs on, taken at Lead, SD, Bismarck and Dubuque instead of at resorts. The curve is Dubuque.

Resorts tracked
0
Opening dates on file
0
Earliest normal window
Oct 11
Oct–Nov hrs there
448

When the guns can run

Snow guns need a wet-bulb temperature under 28°F. The mean at Dubuque does not get there until Dec 1, but the first workable window normally arrives on Nov 9. Resorts open on those early cold snaps rather than on the average.

60° 45° 30° 15° FIRST WORKABLE WINDOW Oct 10 normally Nov 9 Dec 8 COLD ENOUGH TO MAKE SNOW Average crosses 28° · Dec 1 Aug 23 Oct 1 Nov 1 Dec 1 Jan 1 60° 45° 30° 15° FIRST WORKABLE WINDOW Oct 10 normally Nov 9 Dec 8 COLD ENOUGH TO MAKE SNOW Average crosses 28° · Dec 1 Aug 23 Oct 1 Nov 1 Dec 1 Jan 1
Mean wet-bulb, Dubuque, 1995–2025 28°F snowmaking threshold Cold enough to make snow

The next two weeks

No snowmaking weather in the next 16 days. The coldest any of these gets is 37.9° at Lead, SD.

Black Hills

37.9°

Coldest wet bulb the 16-day forecast reaches at Lead, SD.

Hours under 28°
0
First window
—
Normal Oct–Nov hours
448

Bismarck

45.2°

Coldest wet bulb the 16-day forecast reaches at Bismarck.

Hours under 28°
0
First window
—
Normal Oct–Nov hours
430

Dubuque

57.1°

Coldest wet bulb the 16-day forecast reaches at Dubuque.

Hours under 28°
0
First window
—
Normal Oct–Nov hours
199

Wet-bulb forecast from Open-Meteo, updated twice a day. Guns can run under 28°.

Want resort specific info? We need help!

We need somebody to help find opening dates, closing dates, and where the two can be told apart, the pre-season opening versus the full one. That mostly means trolling their Facebook feeds by hand. Sometimes the websites have it. Minnesota shows what a region looks like once it is filled in.

9 resorts in this region, none with dates on file yet. From the Midwest Ski Resort Guide by Midwest Skiers.

If you know Dakotas & Iowa resorts, or want to take on the whole state, that is the whole job. Email eazydp@gmail.com. Dates for resorts already listed are just as welcome.