Were you looking forward to skating, sledding? 'There's always next year,' Rochester
Rochester hasn’t seen much snow this winter, and the little that has fallen hasn’t typically stuck around.
While many remember growing up with snow forts, outdoor ice-skating rinks and snowball fights, there’s been few opportunities for winter fun this season. For a region that prides itself on cold, snowy winters, the Rochester area has seen little of its typical snowfall, trailing its normal snowfall at this time of year by more than 30 inches.
It was a scene reminiscent of springtime on Friday, with more than a few Rochesterians taking to the trails and paths at Highland Park and cyclists for commuting and exercise enjoying dry roads and warmth.
It’s a similar story to last winter, when a total of just 50.4 inches of snow fell, with most coming later in the winter season. For events like the Irondequoit Winterfest, a shift in programming has been made to compensate for the decidedly un-winterlike conditions.
Rochester winter festivals adjust without winter weather
The annual event, this year held on Saturday, Feb. 10, was typically held in January. Winterfest was moved to February after several mild weather Januarys, said Caitlyn Bailey, Town of Irondequoit special events coordinator. "And of course, when it normally happens in January, there was snow,” Bailey said.
This Saturday, however, the forecast is calling for temperatures into the 50s and a chance for rain. So, some activities, including snowshoeing with Helmer Nature Center and the sledding hill, have been canceled. A snowboard demo with Neon Wave will still be held by providing their own snow.
“Our traditional activities such as our horse and wagon rides, or meet-and-greets with the alpacas and huskies, are all still happening,” Bailey said. Some activities, including photos with an ice princess and an ice sculpture demo, have been added to maintain the winter feel without the winter weather. There will be a winter market, food trucks, a DJ and other non-weather dependent, but popular, activities.
Instead of clearing snow and ice, Bailey said, the town is preparing for the potential of mud with rain in the forecast and a large crowd on the grass.
“It’s just these things that we haven’t had to think of in the past that are now kind of the beginning conversations in these events,” she said.
Rochester snowmobile clubs lament lack of snow
While the Winterfest can push ahead despite the lack of snow, one upstate New York tradition remains on hiatus in the Rochester area this winter: snowmobiling. For the second season in a row, the Henrietta Hill and Gully Snowmobile Riders snow grooming equipment has sat dormant.
The snowmobile club’s president, Gary Rouleau, said the club trails haven’t been open the past two winters and there’s been a corresponding 10% dip in enrollment. Some members have been traveling to other destinations, including the Tug Hill Plateau and deep into the Adirondacks, in hopes of finding suitable snow.
Ideal snowmobile conditions require six inches of good snow, preferably with a frozen base, Rouleau said. The warm winter temperatures this season have kept the ground from freezing, and any snow only insulates the unfrozen ground.
Some snowmobile riders have said they’re worried trail conditions won’t come back in the Rochester area, Rouleau said, but he compared the snowless winters to conditions in the late ‘80s. “There’s always eternal hope; there’s always next year,” Rouleau said.
The Hill and Gully Snowmobile Riders still met recently and it was an opportunity for members to share some food and conversation, even if the trails aren’t open for riding.
“People can talk about where they did get some riding in and maybe about plans coming up,” Rouleau said. “I know I was going to go to Maine later this month, but they don’t have any snow, or much snow there either.”
It’s a great time to get into snowmobile riding if you lack a sled, however. Rouleau said there are plenty available on Facebook Marketplace and manufacturers are offering steep discounts for new sleds.
Snowshoeing takes back seat with warmer winters in Rochester
Activities that function in any weather are running and walking, which is the focus of Fleet Feet Sports which maintains stores in the Rochester and Buffalo areas. Ellen Brenner, owner of those local stores, said weather plays an influence in participation and spending in the walking and running communities.
Sales are typically better if there’s warmer weather and some sun at the end of January or early February, Brenner said. The mild weather gets people to think about getting outside to run or walk.
Brenner also owns YellowJacket Racing, which produces races in the greater Rochester area, including the Flower City Half Marathon. While cold weather races have less participation than their spring, summer and fall counterparts, training groups are some of the largest for the entire year. "It’s really an interesting phenomenon because people, they want the motivation,” Brenner said. “They want to be able to be outside, (and) being with others in a public setting helps them do that.”
The milder temperatures have led to one change to both aspects of Brenner’s businesses, however. Fleet Feet stores in Rochester and Buffalo no longer carry snowshoes because of a consistent lack of suitable snow.
There also used to be quite a few snowshoe races in the area, including those hosted by YellowJacket Racing, but they’re much harder to find now.
“You almost have to go to the depths of the Adirondacks in order to really appreciate a good snowshoe race nowadays,” Brenner said.
Rochester NY weather in the coming week
While temperatures remain mild in Rochester now, the midrange forecast calls for below average temperatures, though it is paired with below average precipitation. So a more wintry, if dry, forecast is on the horizon.
AccuWeather currently predicts Rochester to have only one daily high above freezing for the week following Valentine’s Day, with a chance of snow Feb. 13 and Feb. 20.
— Steve Howe covers weather, climate and lake issues for the Democrat and Chronicle and he had a binder full of Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch data as a kid. Share with him at showe@gannett.com.
If you go:
Irondequoit Winterfest
Saturday, Feb. 10
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
1280 Titus Ave.
Rochester, NY 14617
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Weather in Rochester NY: For a real winter, 'there’s always next year'
