Weather Frightful for Some, Delightful for Others

Kathy Raycraft, who works at , said she’s personally enjoying the warm weather, but it’s having an effect on the bottom line at her work.

Wintertime the paving company she works for refits the front ends of construction equipment with snowplows. She estimated that an eighth of the yearly revenue at her work comes from clearing snow for clients — from the parking lots of office buildings and shopping centers.

“We haven’t even been able to spread much salt yet either,” Raycraft said.

She said she feels guilty enjoying the warm weather. But temperatures will drop and the flakes will fall. She’s confident of that.

“In the next week or two, it’s going to get colder,” Raycraft said.

At the , where you can play hockey or just plain skate, it was crowded over the holidays.

“Our business usually picks up when it’s bitter cold and when it’s really warm,” said Patty Osmun, office manager at Crystal Ice House. “Around Christmastime, people want to be outside in the snow.

"Our public skating over the weekend, we were very busy. Business has been up about 20 percent. We attribute the boost to the weather and also to the fact that we’re a very friendly establishment,” she joked.

The — especially the public works department — is enjoying the warm weather. The city is saving money on salt usage and overtime.

“We’re sending smaller crews at night to spread salt,” said A.J. Reineking, assistant to the public works director. “We’re not burning through our salt supply.”

Reineking added that the city subscribes to a weather service. A drop in temperatures is expected later this week. Thursday there is a 30 percent chance of snow.

"Just flurries," he said.