Abnormally mild January full of joy, grief for Manitobans as winter on track to break record

Unexpected warm winter weather in the province has been enjoyable for some people, but not everyone is a fan of the mild temperatures.

A record-breaking warm January may become the new normal for future generations as mild weather continues to play havoc on normal winter activities in Manitoba, according to an expert.

This winter is set to break a record for the fewest cold days since record keeping began in 1872, according to a University of Manitoba professor who defines a "cold day" as any time temperatures hit –20 C.

Alex Crawford, assistant professor in the university's environment and geography department, said Wednesday that Winnipeg has only been 12 such days so far this winter, which puts the city on pace to break a record that was set in the 1800s.

He said the unseasonably warm weather is "absolutely abnormal."

"2023 was the warmest year for the world overall on record, and it was particularly warm in Canada.… It's an El Niño year, and El Niño years do tend to be warmer than normal in Winnipeg," he said.

LISTEN / El Niño contributing to warm Winnipeg winter: 

Information Radio - MB6:27Winnipeg's warm winter could break record set from the 1800s

Crawford believes next winter will likely be cooler, but warned that warmer temperatures will become more frequent in the long term.

"The identity of Winnipeg and the culture that we have here around our winter activities … if this becomes a new normal, this definitely changes the way we interact with our environment," he said.

Events cancelled, rinks close

The warmer weather is putting some outdoor winter recreational activities on hold.

Last week, the Northern Manitoba Trappers' Festival in The Pas announced one of its signature events, the world championship dog races, will not take place this year.

Jennifer Cook, vice-chair of the festival, said they had to cancel the dog races because they didn't get the required two-foot snow base two that would ensure the trails are safe for participants.

"Even if we got a bunch of snow, it's just not going to happen," she said. "They run [53.1 km] a day over the course of three days, and with mild temperatures and very little snow, we run the risk of dog injury, musher injury."

In Winnipeg, the Iron Man Outdoor Curling Bonspiel, which takes place every winter over a frozen Red River, announced Wednesday the event has been postponed for the first time in its 22-year history.

LISTEN / Iron Man bonspiel delayed a couple of weeks:

Information Radio - MB9:26The Ironman outdoor tournament is hurrying hard to reschedule, now that this spring-like weather has melted its hopes of going ahead this weekend

The 64-team bonspiel has been rescheduled for mid-February.

"Mother Nature decided that it just wasn't the time," said Lynne Roy, one of the bonspiel organizers.

She said there currently no plans to move the event indoors, but didn't rule it out.

"We really wanted to keep the authenticity of the event intact … but we'll look at different options in case it happens again."

At The Forks, all skating surfaces were temporarily closed, starting Tuesday.

Aylin Fernandez was there on Monday with Alicia Torres, who is visiting from Mexico.

"I was telling her this is unusually warm, and she was like, 'how is this warm?'… This is like summer, basically." Fernandez said.

"I like it a lot compared to the –30 we were having at the beginning of the month, but we wanted to skate."

Southeast of Steinbach, the rural municipality of Hanover decided to close all five of its skating rinks indefinitely.

"Typically we would be looking at [closures] mid- to late-February at the earliest," said Jason Peters, manager of recreation and community services.

"For this to be happening end of January — in my time here this hasn't happened before."

'It's been great for us'

Other Manitobans say they're cherishing the weather while it lasts.

Melissa Anderson, Brittany Penner and Larissa Thiessen were at The Forks with their children on Wednesday.

"We're out and about and they're hardly bundled up," Anderson said.

"We're expecting it [to get colder]," Thiessen said. "We're holding this kind of hands open and soaking in all we can, but it's what it is. It's Manitoba, for Pete's sake."

LISTEN / Shooters opens driving range for first time in January:

Up To Speed4:07Balmy weather encourages Winnipeg driving range to open in January

Shooters Family Golf Centre opened its driving range Wednesday — a historically early date for the driving range. Manager Eason Cerasani said he wants to keep it open until at least Sunday.

"There's a lot of people in shorts. It's pretty warm," Cerasani said. "It's good for business, it's good for people to be outside, it's good for everybody."

WATCH | Golfers dust off the clubs at Shooters: 

It's also the perfect time to hit the slopes because man-made snow used at ski venues is denser and it can remain firm in this weather, said Bob Lawrie, head coach for the Manitoba Alpine Ski Division.

"If you give me –5 to to 0 C all winter long, everyone's going to be happy on the ski hill," he said. "For cross-country, for snowshoeing, for snowmobiling, it's been a little bit of a disaster ... But it's been great for us."