January warmth takes its toll on winter recreation in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • January 13, 2023

With temperatures in the 50s and rain across much of the state, it hardly feels like winter in Maine. And the warm weather is leaving snowmobile trails bare and frustrating skiers in some areas. "We depend on the snow," says Al Swett, president of the Maine Snowmobile Association. "We don't have have snowmakers, snowblowers, like the big mountains do, so we're stuck." Swett says he has seen open water in places he has never before this time of year in his 60-plus years in Maine, and urges extreme caution.