Winter finally returns to city with huge dump of snow

The first significant snowfall of the season had many people out in the cold and onto the slopes.

A blanket of snow fell upon the city with an estimated 15 centimeters by the end of Saturday. While not the first snowfall of the season, it was the first significant amount of the year. The snow came just a few days after record-breaking warmer weather.

Many skiers and snowboarders welcomed the fleshly fallen snow at the opening day of Loch Lomond Ski Area. Although only one hill was open, many were just excited to be able to get a run in.

Kurtis Tenhave, 17, has snowboarded for about four years and said he was excited to get back onto the familiar slopes.

“I was pretty pumped to go snowboarding,” Kurtis said. “It has been a few months and I’m just ready to go back.”

He said the new snow wouldn’t affect going down the hills too much and would actually make it more fun.

Steven Tollefsen, a member of the Lake Superior Ski Division, made sure his skiers were out getting some practice.

“It’s great for us to be out this early in the season,” Tollefsen said. “There’s manmade snow and a little bit of Mother Nature last night so it’s actually really good. We’re one of the local sky teams here so we try to get out onto the snow as much as we can.”

Although, not everyone was enjoying the snow at a ski hill.

Kerrie New rounded up her three children and husband and asked her friends if they wanted to go sledding at Balsam pits baseball field. She said she’s a big fan of winter and was glad to see so much snow.

“We’re having a blast,” New said. “It’s the first snowfall and we’ve been waiting for months. I love the snow. I could live in it all year. There’s just so much to do. You’re outside and you’re not in front of the TV.”

New’s son Tyler agreed with what his mother had said and added he loved it just as much.

“There’s so much to do in the snow,” he said.

But it wasn’t all fun in the snow.

Thunder Bay Police Service officers reported a dozen collisions across the city and region since the snow fell but with no serious injuries. Police wanted to remind motorists to slow down and drive carefully.