MINNEAPOLIS—On a 60-degree day here in early March, Derek Hughes and his son, Dylan, tried out their cross-country skis on artificial snow that had melted into a slushy mess.
“It feels like the cross-country equivalent of water skiing,” said Hughes, 42 years old, as his 8-year-old son—skiing for only the third time all winter—looked up with a smile.
This is the winter that wasn’t in Minnesota and other states across America’s normally frozen northern tier. Record warm temperatures and low snowfall have forced the cancellation of everything from ice fishing tournaments to dog sled races to winter carnivals. Business has dried up for ski resorts, snowmobile makers and any other venture that relies on cold weather and white powder to make a living.
The Loppet Foundation, the nonprofit that oversees winter recreation in the park where the Derek Hughes and his son were trying to ski, has seen a 60% drop in revenue compared with last winter, said executive director Claire Wilson.
“Winter is our bread and butter,” she said. “We can’t have another year like this.”
