The warmest winter

Although the calendar is still in winter, the lack of snow and mild climate aligns more with the muddy spring season

By Chloe Bennett

For many in the Adirondacks, winter is highly anticipated and celebrated. Months of powdery and icy conditions in the region have historically attracted outdoors enthusiasts to experience the park’s extensive cold season.

But this winter’s record-breaking warm temperatures and minimal snowfall transformed the season, shortening outdoor recreation times and disrupting some events. 

Will Roth, an ice-climbing guide at Adirondack Rock and River, said this winter was especially hard because of large temperature swings. Scheduled trips for the first few weeks of December were canceled because of a lack of snow and ice, said Roth, the president of the Adirondack Climbers’ Coalition. 

“There was just no ice to even climb,” he said. 

Record warmth

Although the calendar is still in winter, the lack of snow and mild climate aligns more with the muddy spring season.

Winter temperatures in the Saranac Lake area were the warmest on record this year. According to data from the National Weather Service, the average temperature from December to February was 24.1 degrees. The previous record was 23.5 degrees in the 2015-16 winter season. Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that effects from El Niño, which started this fall, include above-average temperatures in the Northern U.S.

Climate change, accelerated by the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities, is also contributing to higher temperatures. 

Robbie Mecus, a forest ranger with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, noted the changes. “The winters 10 years ago, 20 years ago, were much more consistently cold,” she said. 

“There were always early to mid-January thaw, we always had that, that’s just a typical weather pattern, but it was usually a one-shot deal in the wintertime,” Mecus said. 

Events, interrupted

Events centered around the outdoor experience of winter were also disrupted. A youth skiing event at Dewey Mountain during the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival days was canceled due to warm conditions, while the ice castle’s reign was cut short because of structural concerns from melting. In late February, the Olympic Regional Development Authority closed the Lake Placid ice skating oval because of warm temperatures. 

The newly opened Adirondack Rail Trail had exposed gravel instead of white snow in early March, limiting winter recreation. 

The shortening of winter is disappointing to Roth, who moved to the Adirondacks in 2005 from Arizona and a short stay in the Hudson Valley. The guarantee of four distinct seasons was part of the Adirondack Park’s allure. Now, he said people may be moving further north to experience long winters. 

“Or if you’re in my situation, I don’t think we could really pack up and move right now,” he said. “I think that that would be something that would be really difficult for me, in my life, and so now we’re stuck here sort of adapting to it.”

Skiing, ice fishing, wild skating and other outdoor activities were also impacted. Scientist Curt Stager said he had trouble finding a place with enough snow to ski in late February. 

Stager said the Adirondacks is on the verge of losing some of the cultural experiences of winter, including community events centered around the season, such as the Wild Center’s Wild Lights display in Tupper Lake. On the last night of the event around a decorated forest scene, the Paul Smith’s College professor thought of the evolving season while watching families bundled in coats against the cold, he said.

“It was sort of bittersweet to have it in this particular winter where you notice that it’s gradually going away,” he said. 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the correct name of the Adirondack Climbers’ Coalition.