Mother Nature is putting the brakes on winter activities, including skiing and snowmobiling.
Just days after one of the finest snowmobiling weekend in years in Langlade County, the trails are closing due to warm weather.
Langlade County Forest Administrator Erik Rantala said the recent warm weather and rains are hammering the county’s 540 miles of funded trails.
“We’re coming off the best conditions we’ve had in years last weekend and now we’re dealing with 40 degrees and rain,” he said, leading to the decision to temporarily lock the gates.
“We’re thinking long-term,” Rantala said.“The clubs have worked hard to create a good base and we want to preserve what we have.” Rantala said that if sleds stay off the trails, “the base will stay in place.”
Trails will close at 5 p.m. today. They will reopen when colder temperatures return.
The Langlade County Snowmobile and All Terrain Vehicle Trail Ordinance prohibits any vehicle traffic on snowmobile trails upon their
closure. Violations of this ordinance will result in citations.
Another weather casualty is Kettlebowl ski hill, which welcomed close to 400 skiers this past Saturday and Sunday.
“Mother Nature is playing games with us,” Judy Peterson, Kettlebowl volunteer, said. “One weekend it’s too cold and now it’s too warm. Hopefully the warm spell will be over by mid-week so we can open again on Jan. 28.”
The short-range forecast is dreary. It calls for temperatures well above freezing with a chance of rain and maybe a bit of ice and snow
through the weekend.
More seasonable conditions are expected to return by the middle of next week.