By tomorrow drizzle and snow will return in northern Minnesota, but for the past 48 hours the weather has been gorgeous. The unseasonable warm weather (60F this afternoon) has done some major damage to our snow cover. With the quick warmup, the Northland has been transformed. Water is screaming down to Lake Superior and setting the waterfalls to roaring. Area lakes have snowmelt ponds and refreeze, which made for neat photographic conditions.

This afternoon Molly and I took a quick 25 mile bike ride to explore some area rivers and waterfalls. Even though we were within 100 yards of Lake Superior and her 36F water, the mild winds meant we biked in shorts and light tops!

Here is some of what we saw over the past 48 hours, starting with a mild Aurora Borealis display two nights ago. I love the reflections and ice. These kinds of conditions are only present for a few weeks per year.

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Some of our waterfalls, including my favorite … the Splitrock shower waterfall. This spigot only turns on for about one week each spring during runoff!

(Splitrock Shower Waterfall … Beaver River … Gooseberry River)