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Winter organizers hopeful despite warm weather
With several events already canceled this winter due to above-average temperatures, other event organizers remain hopeful their events can continue as authorities urge caution on ice.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - This year, winter lovers are getting plenty of tough love from Mother Nature.
"This has been crazy. This is really difficult," Loppet Foundation executive director Claire Wilson told FOX 9. "We can’t remember a time when there was no natural snow -- throughout the course of the winter I mean – not a chance to shovel."
On Monday, sloppy, sticky snow was that skiers had to work with at Theodore Wirth Park. Loppet Foundation executive director Claire Wilson says for now the park remains open, but conditions are becoming more and more challenging.
"Instead of like gliding on snow, it’s more like water skiing," skier Chris Harvey said.
Ground crews are desperate to protect the snow on the ground, because from Feb. 17 through Feb. 19, around 20,000 people are expected each day to take in the FIS Cross Country World Cup.
"We think the long-term forecast is in our favor for the world cup," Wilson said.
But she admits the pressure is on, because the event does not have a backup plan in place; and it’s already been a couple of weeks since they’ve been able to make any snow at night.
Meanwhile, at Lake Minnetonka, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office sergeant Rick Waldon is just as flustered by the conditions.
"Rain, wind, sun, and the warm weather is going to erode this ice incredibly fast, and this is what we generally see towards the end of March, in the beginning of April, [instead of] here at the end of January," Waldon told FOX 9. "We had two UTV side-by-sides go through this weekend… One of the ATVs went through and the fog was so quick, we had a hard time finding them."
"We’re going to have open water here, and I think we’re going to be in a boat, sooner than we might expect," Waldon said.