Those light bands of snowfall that fell Tuesday across parts of Minnesota may be a sign of the season.

“Right now, we’re on snow watch,” declares Ben Bauch, Trail and Trailhead director for the Loppet Foundation. “So, the temperatures are dropping. Once we get around that 28-degree mark, we can turn on our snow guns and start making snow.”

He isn’t the only one hoping for the big chill to hit our state.

Andy Knaeble, the manager of Instant Replay Sports in Bloomington, hopes winter will come in roaring like a lion.

“We’re just hoping this year turns out to be a whole lot cooler, below freezing,” he smiles. “That’s what we’re asking for.”  

Knaeble says he doesn’t want a repeat of last season’s mild weather.

He notes he sold plenty of skis and snowboards but skates? With many rinks closed or with restricted hours last year, not so much.

“I was left over with 300 pairs of skates, so that’s a lot of skates,” he says. “Normally, I’m left over with 80. Skates were non-existent for the most part, so hoping for a different outcome this year.”

At Trollhaugen in Wisconsin, staffers are already making snow — a contrast to Hyland Hills Ski Area in Bloomington, where the higher elevations are still green.  

Staffers there also hope to avoid a mild winter repeat.

“It’s tough to have somebody wanting to come skiing when it’s temperatures you don’t normally associate with activities in the middle of the winter,” Operations Manager Andrew Berns explains.  

He says Hyland Hills saw about 187,000 visitors between Thanksgiving and mid-March — an average turnout — because they were able to make artificial snow without the help of Mother Nature.

Although, Berns says cold weather is a necessity and that he hopes to be making snow by the first week in December.  

“Most importantly, temperatures have to be below freezing,” he notes. “We like it to be at least 28 degrees and the dryer it is, the less humidity it is, the better. “

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says the state’s nearly two dozen ski areas provided nearly 2,800 jobs during the first quarter of last year.

Following a pandemic dip, that was the highest number in a decade.

The Minnesota Ski Areas Association says the total economic impact added up to $380 million during the 2021-22 season.

The Loppet Foundation is hoping for cooler temps as well.  

Last season, the Luminary Loppet had to be held on land because of thin ice concerns.

This time around, organizers say they’re ready.

“The Luminary still happened, even though we had to move it on ground, we still hosted it and had thousands of people at Lake of the Isles to celebrate winter outdoors,”  Bauch says. “It was a magical night and we’re still moving forward, whether it’s on land or not, we’re moving forward with it for this coming season.”