Skating? Sorry, interested in some rain boots? By: Malak Abas Posted: 6:14 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024

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This article was published 30/01/2024 (625 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It may be time to file a missing season’s report with the police.

Because apart from a brief special guest appearance by winter a few weeks back, January has felt a lot like April this year.

Outdoor rinks across the city are melting, the roads are wet and most vehicles are wearing shades of Winnipeg’s traditional grey-brown early spring palette.

The temperature at The Forks Tuesday soared to 4 C, and the Port Rink, the lone section of the Nestaweya River Trail that opened only last Thursday — a late-season record — has been shut down owing to safety concerns.

And it’s not great for business.

At Iceland Skate Rentals inside the Forks Market, the counter sat unstaffed, and the winter gear was untouched.

Rylee Harvey was, technically, keeping watch, but it was so slow that she was over at the nearby mini doughnuts vendor instead. Both businesses are run by her grandfather.

There was a fleeting flash of skate-rental action at Iceland over the weekend, but Harvey said she fears the season is already over.

“It could have been so much better,” she said. “We’ve seen many good years where it’s just been crazy… people waiting in line for an hour just to go skating.”

Daytime temperatures are forecast to remain above freezing through Sunday. The high Wednesday is expected to hit 4 C again.

“If you look out there, you see there’s mush. It’s puddles, it is not skate-able, walkable, enjoyable in the slightest.”–Forks spokesperson Zach Peters

“If you look out there, you see there’s mush,” Forks spokesperson Zach Peters said of the blocked-off river trail. “It’s puddles, it is not skate-able, walkable, enjoyable in the slightest.”

The Winter 150 Park canopy rink next to The Forks Market was a roped-off puddle by mid-morning, disappointing Caitlin Richard, a therapist who had brought her 15-year-old mentee to play some shinny.

“We’re kind of bummed out, disappointed,” she said. “We were looking forward to getting some skating time in.”

The Forks is, optimistically, calling the closures temporary for now. If the weather steadily drops below freezing at night, crews could be able to groom the river trail’s ice enough to reopen.

Some scheduled activities, such as the annual Beat The Cold triathalon set for Saturday, which is typically held on the river trail, will remain a duathlon on land, with the skate portion replaced by a second run.

Winnipeg is sitting under an upper ridge bringing mild weather after the taste of snow and cold that hit the city earlier in the month. No records have fallen yet, but the winter, overall, might be one of the warmest the city has ever experienced.

“Overall, this winter is trending to be a lot warmer than normal,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Samantha Mauti.

“And even though the winter is not over yet… December and what’s included of January so far is trending to be the third-warmest winter on record for Winnipeg.”

It’s not the best news for the Windsor Park Nordic Centre, which finally opened to skiers Jan. 12 after a significant snowfall. That excitement was short-lived, and the centre closed Tuesday and plans to again Wednesday to keep people off the trails and prevent further deterioration.

“It’s really difficult to see if the snow is going to hold up… there’s not a lot of wiggle room in keeping the trail viable after we get over this little warm weather system,” manager Laurie Penton said.

The centre is currently fundraising for snow-making machinery, which would take some of the unpredictability out of planning for future seasons. Staff hope it will be in place by next fall.

The unpredictable weather has resulted in a freeze-thaw cycle perfect for pothole production. City crews are already out filling holes with temporary patches, as more permanent solutions require summer temperatures.

“It’s somewhat atypical to have a pothole problem in January, but only because issues correlate to warm weather,” city communications co-ordinator Julie Horbal Dooley said in an email.

“Right now, it is unseasonably warm for January, so we are not surprised to see potholes emerging.”

The warmth has slowed down work in some sectors and sped up others. At Terrace Snow Removal, staff are in the shop working on equipment repairs, because there’s so little snow to clear.

“Overall revenue is down — for us, the majority of our base is on contract. The reason we do contracts is because we dedicate equipment and staff throughout the entire season,” owner Graham Dreger said.

“As you know, snow is weather, and weather is unpredictable, so our guys are ready at a moment’s notice.”

Dreger said he hasn’t had anyone call to try and cancel their contract, noting that he started the business in 2016 and has never seen a prolonged warm, dry period this lengthy.

“It’s great for those… ice-fishing activities, where you don’t have to sit in the hut and freeze, it’s nice for that. But for snow removal, it’s a little bit slower,” he said.

He’s not wrong about ice fishers.

“I’m outside in the middle of the lake in a sweatshirt and a pair of sweats and no jacket or anything,”–Jordan Manton, owner of Crunch Time Tackle and Outfitting

“I’m busier now than I’ve ever been, and it only seems to be trending upwards,” said Jordan Manton, who owns Crunch Time Tackle and Outfitting.

As mild as it’s been, there is still about three-quarters of a metre of ice on Lake Winnipeg right now, Manton said, adding the warm sun has done away with the snow drifts that settle on the ice and make it difficult to traverse, so it’s easier to drive to fishing shacks.

He’s received an influx of callers looking to get into ice fishing, as other winter activities fall by the warm wayside. He hopes shacks can stay on the ice until March — but it is a “funny” year, as he describes it.

“I’m outside in the middle of the lake in a sweatshirt and a pair of sweats and no jacket or anything,” he told the Free Press with a laugh.

“It’s beautiful out here right now.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca