MONROE - Winter can make Wisconsin a wonderland. But for many Green County residents who rely on the snow for play, work and farming, winter is turning out to be a bummer.
Winter play
Employees at Monroe Powersports on County DR are watching their local customers travel north to enjoy the snow.
Wednesday's snow storm "didn't help us out," said salesman Jason Berg. "It's way too wet, and the ground's not frozen.
"So, it's a good time to get discounts on other things, like clothes, before going up north."
Berg said the weather came in backwards Wednesday to be of any use to snowmobilers in Green County, snowing before the temperature dropped and insulating the ground from freezing.
"If you step in the snow, three or four inches down the water starts to pool up," he said.
"It hurts new sales down here," he said, adding that local residents wait for good snowmobiling trails before deciding to purchase a used snowmobile.
Even ATVs aren't moving because of the soft trails. "It's sort of a give and take, between December 1 and March 15, there's a stipulation: No ATVs if there's more than four inches of snow or if the ground isn't frozen," he said.
Fortunately, the business still gets snowmobile repair and maintenance work from those who travel north.
Winter work
Derek Williams, owner of Cedar Crest Landscaping on Greenbush Road, was up and gone long before the sun rose or the snow stopped Wednesday, to plow the driveways and parking lots of his business and resident customers.
Williams faced removing slushy snow from the latest winter storm and then had to salt sidewalks and parking lots as plunging temperatures froze the exposed rain.
"I didn't see him back here until late Wednesday," his daughter Cali Williams said, and then he was up and gone early Thursday.
Landscaping works continues up until the snow falls, she added.
"Winter's pretty rough when there's not a constant income," she said. "There are struggles and tough times through winter."
That's true even for landscapers who supplement their business revenue with snow plowing.
"So far, it's been slow this year, other than the few snowfalls" she said.
Winter drought
Mark Mayer, UW-Extension agriculture agent for Green County, said the mixed weather in the past couple weeks could have done some damage to the winter wheat.
"The open winter we had and lack of snow, and the cold temperatures we had around the 21st and 22nd of January, was not good for perennial crops, like alfalfa and winter wheat," he said. "Snow cover is a benefit. If you have four inches of snow cover, that creates a ten degree difference in the air temperature above and below."
There is more bad news. Ground frost created a barrier to the abundant rain fall earlier this past week.
"Most of the rain all ran off" and didn't help recharge the ground water, Mayer said. "It wasn't warm enough long enough to get the frost out."
"Green County and northern Illinois is still classified as in severe drought," he added.
Mayer said moisture can be found about three or four inches below the ground surface, but below that, the ground is still dry down to five feet below.
Winter play
Employees at Monroe Powersports on County DR are watching their local customers travel north to enjoy the snow.
Wednesday's snow storm "didn't help us out," said salesman Jason Berg. "It's way too wet, and the ground's not frozen.
"So, it's a good time to get discounts on other things, like clothes, before going up north."
Berg said the weather came in backwards Wednesday to be of any use to snowmobilers in Green County, snowing before the temperature dropped and insulating the ground from freezing.
"If you step in the snow, three or four inches down the water starts to pool up," he said.
"It hurts new sales down here," he said, adding that local residents wait for good snowmobiling trails before deciding to purchase a used snowmobile.
Even ATVs aren't moving because of the soft trails. "It's sort of a give and take, between December 1 and March 15, there's a stipulation: No ATVs if there's more than four inches of snow or if the ground isn't frozen," he said.
Fortunately, the business still gets snowmobile repair and maintenance work from those who travel north.
Winter work
Derek Williams, owner of Cedar Crest Landscaping on Greenbush Road, was up and gone long before the sun rose or the snow stopped Wednesday, to plow the driveways and parking lots of his business and resident customers.
Williams faced removing slushy snow from the latest winter storm and then had to salt sidewalks and parking lots as plunging temperatures froze the exposed rain.
"I didn't see him back here until late Wednesday," his daughter Cali Williams said, and then he was up and gone early Thursday.
Landscaping works continues up until the snow falls, she added.
"Winter's pretty rough when there's not a constant income," she said. "There are struggles and tough times through winter."
That's true even for landscapers who supplement their business revenue with snow plowing.
"So far, it's been slow this year, other than the few snowfalls" she said.
Winter drought
Mark Mayer, UW-Extension agriculture agent for Green County, said the mixed weather in the past couple weeks could have done some damage to the winter wheat.
"The open winter we had and lack of snow, and the cold temperatures we had around the 21st and 22nd of January, was not good for perennial crops, like alfalfa and winter wheat," he said. "Snow cover is a benefit. If you have four inches of snow cover, that creates a ten degree difference in the air temperature above and below."
There is more bad news. Ground frost created a barrier to the abundant rain fall earlier this past week.
"Most of the rain all ran off" and didn't help recharge the ground water, Mayer said. "It wasn't warm enough long enough to get the frost out."
"Green County and northern Illinois is still classified as in severe drought," he added.
Mayer said moisture can be found about three or four inches below the ground surface, but below that, the ground is still dry down to five feet below.