PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — After temperature swings and rain left little snow and a lot of ice, Aroostook State Park staff decided to call off its annual Winter Family Fun Day scheduled for Feb. 20, 2016.
“Due to melting snow conditions and threat to public safety we are canceling the Winter Family Fun Day,” park manager Scott Thompson said in a press release.
The winter celebration at Aroostook State Park in Presque Isle usually draws hundreds for cross-country skiing, sledding and snowshoe hikes. The Maine State Park equipment trailer was set to have skis and snowshoes to lend visitors free of charge for use at the park, which includes 15 miles of winter trails going up and around Quoggy Jo Mountain.
“Snowshoe trails are icy but passable,” and the sliding hill is closed “until conditions improve,” park officials said. The “ski trails are icy and ungroomed at this time. Grooming will take place if we receive significant snowfall.”
The event is not being rescheduled, since there is “no guarantee of snow condition improvements,” Thompson said. A group snowshoe hike that was organized by The Aroostook Medical Center at the state park the same day will be rescheduled.
Elsewhere in The County, Quoggy Jo Ski Center is closed until there is sufficient snow, while other ski and snowmobile trails are mixed, with some passable and some not. Some of the ski trails at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center are in good shape, as of Feb. 22. Bigrock Mountain in Mars Hill, which has snowmaking equipment, is still open for downhill skiing.
As for any snowfall in the forecast, a wintry mix coming Wednesday was set to bring more of the same from last week — snow and rain. As temperatures swing above freezing and as high as 50 degrees on Thursday, freezing rain and rain are expected, along with hazardous ice, due to ground temperatures remaining below 32 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
NWS meteorologists expect colder air to arrive Friday, and a weekend with highs below freezing and the chance for some snow on Saturday and Sunday.
