Regina in a waiting game for winter activities to begin with lack of snow

It might be nearly December, but Shane Westphal, general manager of Atmosphere at Regina’s Southland Mall, says the lack of winter conditions is beginning to impact sales.

He can count the pairs of skis and snowshoes sold on one hand.

“We don’t sell any winter snowshoes or skis right now because there is just no snow at all,” Westphal said. “Winter jackets are pretty rough as well. We haven’t sold much at all.

Westphal said Black Friday helped a lot.

“We had jackets for 50 per cent off so that was huge,” he said. “Lots of our men’s jackets totally sold out.”

Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said there are a number of contributing factors to the lack of snow such as climate change, oscillations in the atmosphere and El Niño, which is a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with warming of the Pacific Ocean.

“I think everyone wants to point the finger at El Niño, but we also had a drier than average spring, summer and winter and El Niño wasn’t around for some of those,” Lang said.

“It’s the lack of moisture that’s quite troublesome, because it’s money in the bank for the ranchers and farmers that need that moisture going into the spring plus you have people that really enjoy those winter sports,” Lang went on to say.

For outdoor sports fan Noah Van der Eerden, the snow can’t come quick enough.

“I really wish we had more snow,” he said. “So far, it’s been a winter without much and I’d love to see some more. I am big into snowboarding so it’s a bit depressing see we don’t have the snow for that.”

For those who aren’t a fan of the snow, however, Regina’s weather has been a welcome sight.

“I’d much rather watch sports than actually play them, especially the winter ones,” Regina resident Tailon Duncan said. “I do tend to slip and fall a lot more often than your regular guy and for the lack of snow, I am a lot happier.”

“I love not having this much snow because I’m too old to do all that stuff now,” resident Marnie Gamble said.

With so many factors to consider, Lang said it’s still too early to say if it will be a white Christmas for those in Regina.