Your sleds, skis, and snowmobiles will likely stay in the shed for the foreseeable future, thanks to Mother Nature. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures could potentially crack 40 degrees this Christmas, and overnight lows could struggle to stay below freezing until after the New Year. That is bad news for local winter sports enthusiasts relying on snow cover for skiing, sledding, skating, and more. No one knows that more than Kewaunee County Promotions and Recreation Director Dave Myers, who has been trying to make snow at Winter Park in Kewaunee since late November. With temperatures rarely around 20 degrees, snowmaking has been difficult to pull off. Myers says they will likely be unable to have holiday sledding due to the warm temperatures and the coming rains.

Myers says with some help, early January might be the earliest they can open Winter Park this year for sledding. Across the state, Travel Wisconsin’s Snow Report shows only a limited number of counties have cross-country ski trails and downhill ski hills open for use. No county’s snowmobile trails are open.