MUSKEGON, Mich. — To businesses that revolve around snowfall, the only thing that may feel consistent about the winter weather is just how inconsistent it’s been.
"For the month of January, we are 13.3 inches below where we should be in terms of monthly snowfall and 9.5° above average in Grand Rapids," explains meteorologist Samantha Jacques. "Those numbers are even higher for places like Muskegon. I mean – it’s been 26 days since our last inch of snowfall – that is not typical for a January in West Michigan. So, this new year is off to an unusual start."
Subsequently, the lack of snowfall has been taking a toll on the West Michigan winter tourism and service industry.
The skiing and snowboarding-like activities that are touted by the state – just not things popular attractions are able to do right now.
“At the end of December, we got some snow,” said Outdoor Adventure Specialist with Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park Bill Bailey. “We were able to actually open for just after the holiday for about two and a half days – then we had this crazy warm up like we've never seen before where the snow basically vanished overnight.”
With temperatures not staying below freezing for a long period of time, keeping snow at the Luge has been next to impossible. Bailey said they’re working to create their own snow too, but it's something they won’t be able to implement due to less-than-ideal forecasts.
Though the public is available to freely hike through the space, their coveted luge track, ice rink and ski trails are not able to open until they’re able to get four inches of accumulated snowfall.
On Wednesday morning, there were only small pockets of leftover snow, the remnants slowly melting away. A night-and-day difference from past winters, Bailey said.
“Normally this time of year, we'd be hosting students on field trips – we'd have our season pass holders here throughout the week,” he said. “Definitely on weekends, we'd have travelers here coming from all across the Midwest, Chicago, Indiana area, as well as our local folks here. It's very strange – we just don't have people around.”
At this point, Bailey said it’s the season pass holders that are helping support them.
“They're our lifeblood of our organization,” he said.
In Kent County, Scott Zemaitis, owner of Scott’s Snowplowing in Walker, is facing a strikingly similar struggle for him and his few employees. Instead of clearing snow from driveways and scraping commercial lot spaces, business is at much of a standstill.
“We're not mowing grass every day or something to break it up,” Zemaitis said. “Snow is our go-to. Snow and ice is where we’d like to be what we'd like to do. And that's a that's a struggle when it's not snowing, or let alone, even freezing.”
An added insult to injury – the lack of snowfall comes after facing a struggling supply chain. Zemaitis said getting new front and back-end plows for one of their new trucks has been difficult. Trying to earn that money back is another challenge.
“When you have the amount of equipment it requires to operate a business like this efficiently, you don't get the return on investment on a rainy day,” he said. “We need snow – we need ice – we need cold conditions, to get the equipment paid for, to keep employees busy, to keep everybody working and moving. And rain doesn't do that, frankly.”
At this point, Zemaitis believes he and his employees will be OK. He worries for larger companies with greater staffing levels.
"There's a lot of companies out there that might struggle," he said. "That's part of the business boundary. Snow is unpredictable."
For Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park to open their winter facilities, they need at least four inches of snow on top of freezing temperatures. That’s also the ballpark amount of steady snow Zemaitis is hoping for.
As of Friday morning, forecasts call for above freezing temperatures in both cities, with light snowfall in the Walker-Grand Rapids area—not nearly enough to make a real impact to either industry.
But still, both are holding onto hope for a strong, wintery February.
“It’s not all doom and gloom. It's Michigan. Michigan never fails,” Bailey said. “We're going to have snow on the ground eventually here, so we know that it's coming – it's just a waiting game and can be a little frustrating when you're waiting for it.”
Zemaitis, later, saying, “The lake hasn’t iced over really a whole lot, so I'm curious to see what if that'll happen,” he said. “I hope it does. We want the snow.”
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