WAYZATA, Minn. - You can describe this winter with one word: abnormal. When January wraps up, it will go directly into the history books as one of the top 10 warmest on record.
"I've been doing this for 37 years and we've never had a season like this," says Tim Sonenstahl, owner of Wayzata Bait and Tackle.
The bitter cold has yet to arrive, neither has the snow. By this time last year, the Twin Cities had seen 60 inches of snow fall, this year just 14 inches.
"We rely on the cold and the snow," says Sonenstahl. "It's going to be a short season."
Owners of local bait shops say the ice is not as solid this year and that affects foot traffic in their stores. "We're down 30 percent in sales compared to where we normally are," he says. "It's pretty rare."
The ice fishing industry is slow, so is the snow removal business.
"This year the plow has pretty much stayed in the garage," says Chris Halvorson, co-owner of North Star Outdoor Services. "We bought a new plow this year and we've only put 70 miles on it."
About half of Halvorson's business comes from contracts with parking lots, apartment complexes, and commercial buildings, but a big part of his income comes from snow removal following snow events. Those events simply aren't happening.
"The money that we planned on making this winter to buy some equipment for summer and for next winter is not going to be," said Halvorson. "It's a big difference from last year."
He hopes a busy season of lawn care this spring and summer will help to recoup some of the losses from this warm winter.
(Copyright 2012 KARE. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)