Sask. experiences well above seasonal temperatures, some winter activities paused

From -30 C temperatures to at times double digits, some could say January was a wild ride for weather in the province.

The extreme shift in temperatures has not been well for outdoor rinks.

“We’ve had a really mild December which we struggled to get the rinks ready and we did get some cold weather but it was almost too cold for play, so warm weather this week has really depleted our ice conditions,” said Ray Morgan, manager of parks and maintenance and cemeteries with the City of Regina.

Regina has 56 outdoor rinks and as of Friday, all will be temporarily closed.

“The ice is too soft and the ice is actually pulling away from the boards exposing asphalt,” Morgan explained.

At Frost Fest, some outdoor events like the Ice Slides have been put on pause because of the weather, but indoor events are still up and running.

Some meteorologists say parts in the province reached record breakers this week.

“Some of the noteworthy temperatures were in the southwest. Maple Creek on the 30th hit 21.1 degrees and that broke the all time January record for all of Saskatchewan,” said Terri Lang with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Despite the balmy conditions last month and so far on Friday morning, conditions on the ski hills look promising.

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“Conditions are as good as we could possible ask for right now. I mean, it’s pretty unique that we have these kinds of temperatures in the middle of February. Fortunately, the cold snap through January we were able to get a real nice blanket of snow on the resort,” said Anders Svenson, the business manager at Mission Ridge Winter Park.

When it comes to weather in Saskatchewan, change is always in the air.

Temperatures are going to be cooling off slightly, mainly in the southern part of the province starting next week.

Some regions could see some snow as early as this weekend.