FOX VALLEY, Wis. (WFRV) – Are you enjoying Wisconsin’s weather so far this month?
The answer to that question may come down to whether your preferred winter activities involve ice or snow.
For fans of activities like ice fishing, things are looking up right now. According to Don Herman, who is the owner of Sunk? Dive & Ice Service, there’s about 8-10 inches of ice out on Lake Winnebago right now. Generally, snowmobiles, ATVs, and UTVs, can go out on the ice when it’s this thick.
“This is the best ice I’ve seen in 10 years, there’s hardly any rough ice,” Herman said.
He said things are looking good for sturgeon spearing season which begins in about a month. Last year, warm weather throughout the winter put a major damper on the popular tradition with many people choosing to not go out on the ice for safety reasons.
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Herman said he’s optimistic that the ice will still be good when sturgeon spearing season rolls around.
“If it stays and we don’t get any warm weather, it stays cold, I think we can get our car bridges out in the next week and a half I’m hoping,” said Herman.
Law enforcement officials remind the public that no ice is 100 percent safe. Herman said if you go out on the ice to make sure you’re paying attention and not taking risks.
Over at Pierce Park in Appleton, skaters are enjoying the ice in a much different way. Appleton Park & Recreation officials said they opened up this skating rink earlier this week and are hard at work trying to get other ice rinks ready to open.
While skating ramps up throughout Northeast Wisconsin communities, it’s a different story for activities that require snow. Brown and green grass poke through patches of snow as trails used for snowshoeing and cross country skiing remain empty as well.
There are some outdoor recreation areas in Northeast Wisconsin that make snow, so not all hope is lost for snow enthusiasts. According to its website, Ariens Nordic Center in Brillion has trails open right now.
Businesses that rely on snow are also hoping for another big snowfall.
Lowney’s Landscaping Center specializes in landscaping, but in the winter they also offer snowplowing services. With the exception of two storms earlier this winter, officials there said it’s been a slow winter. As if to illustrate this, the companies plows sit in the parking lot waiting for a day where they can be used.
“We don’t have the longest growing season in the state of Wisconsin, so having stuff to do in the winter has always been important,” said Lowney’s Landscaping Center general manager Aaron Vosters.
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Vosters said the last few winters have been slow in terms of the number of times they’ve needed to provide snowplow services. He said they offer other services in the winter, so they have ways to still make money even if there’s no snow.
Some of the services they offer are holiday decoration removal and tree cutting.
“Like the last several (winters) have been, it’s a weird start to the season where it’s January and we have no snow on the ground,” said Vosters. “And that is kind of the eternal challenge, trying to diversify as much as possible.”
Vosters said they’re all cheering for some more snow soon.
