Warm weather delaying outdoor ice rink openings across Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS — The month of December has been vastly different from December 2022. Then, temperatures were trending below average. So far this December, temperatures are about nine degrees warmer than normal.
"It's wild, I mean there's no ice out there whatsoever," Minneapolis resident Nate Aul said.
While lake ice is hard to find, one of the few places there's an outdoor ice rink is in Nate Aul's yard. But even their homemade rink is struggling to stay frozen.
"If we put more weight on it, you can see the water coming up on the edges," Aul said.
This time last year, Aul said the rink was frozen solid and able to withstand more ice skaters.
"The kids are in elementary school, and you want to get them out and active, and without snow and rinks around Minneapolis to go on, there's not much else to do," he said.
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Meanwhile, in Stillwater, just an inch of ice has formed on Jeff Skogen's backyard rink.
"Normally we'd have it up and running. Every Christmas Eve we have the whole family here, so we normally have a little hockey tournament among all of us," Skogen said.
He's worked with T-Rex Rinks for the past several years.
"Every year we're dealing with something different," T-Rex Rinks Co-Owner Nolan Rinta said.
Last December, the average high was 24 degrees. So far this year, the average high is 40.
"The ground isn't completely frozen yet, so that allows us to get rinks in the ground, but we're waiting for cold temperatures, so we can actually fill the rinks up," Rinta said.
Despite a late start to the rink season, Rinta predicts by January, more rinks will be up and running.
"Patience is key, unfortunately," Rinta said.
"We're a little disappointed, but there's not much we can do about it!" Skogen said.
