Warm Weather Means Blues for Snow Sports

Here in Western New York state, we are in the midst of a December "heat wave", with what is said to be the warmest December since they started keeping track here in NY. This means a whole lot of snow sports enthusiasts are singing the Blues so far this winter.

I have a lot of friends who are die hard snowmobilers, they are suffering the worse. At least our local ski resorts are able to make snow during the cold nights, and have some trails open. But all these poor "sledders", who have spent thousands of dollars on their machines just look to the skies and sigh.

The forecast for the next week at least looks like more of the same, with very little or no snow coming anytime soon. In fact, they are calling for rain for several days next week. However, with the record warm temperatures, Lake Erie is warmer than it has ever been on December 31, which means it probably will not freeze over this year, which means that the opportunity for those big Lake Effect Snow Storms will be prevalent until Spring. All it takes is a good system coming across the Lake from the North and those snowmobiles will be the only thing moving!!

The lack of snow also makes for interesting hunting conditions. Granted you can go out small game or bird hunting without the winter weight gear, however it is more fun to hunt rabbits and squirrels with a little snow in the background. The stream fishing is still excellent in Western New York, with the creeks still thawed there are a number of fishermen taking advantage of those ideal conditions.

So the trick is to do what we do best here, which is adapt to whatever Mother Nature is going to throw at us. Variety in our seasons is one of the top reasons people stay here in this part of the country, and for those who don't like shoveling, plowing and trudging through the snow, you are having a great year, for everyone who is missing the white stuff, stay tuned you'll have it sooner or later.