OSWEGO, NY – Has Oswego warmed up too soon?
Not that anyone is complaining about the recent respite from the snow and cold. But it just makes one wonder – will there be any snow left for the fifth annual Warm Up Oswego Festival.
The event won’t take place for another couple of weeks (Feb. 6). However, plans are already well under way.
“We’re in the middle of our January thaw, that’s for sure. Actually, we’ve been riding a pretty mild streak for a couple of weeks now,” said Bill Gregway, local observer for the National Weather Service. “If things stay like this for much longer, we won’t have any snow left on the ground.”
It’s been a “slow” winter, Gregway said. The snow total is 68.6 inches, he said Monday; last year on the same date, it was 109.6 inches.
One of the more popular events, for contestants and observers, is the Warm Up Crazy Costume Sled Race, which pits five-person teams dressed in festive costumes as they pull sleds along the street.
The teams might need to add wheels to their sleds this year, Gregway quipped.
“There are some pretty good storms moving in from the Pacific Northwest,” Gregway said. “But, the way they’re tracking right now, they will be well below the Great Lakes as they cross the East. We are likely to just be grazed by any snowfall.”
One of the reasons, Gregway said, is El Nino. The weather pattern contributes to a warmer (sometimes rainier) winter in the East, he noted.
It was also responsible for helping make the winter of 2006 – 2007 the warmest on record, he added.
The next-warmest winter on record was in 2004, and the third warmest winter was in 1998, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
“We might get some cold and snow in the next couple of days,” Gregway said. “But, right after that it is supposed to be mild again.”
What ever the weather, Warm Up Oswego has a myriad events scheduled, including a fireworks display.
The major sponsors for the 2010 edition of Warm Up Oswego are the YMCA, the city of Oswego, G.S. Steamers, Auburn Telstar Fireworks, Oswego County Federal Credit Union, Constellation Energy, NRG Energy, Pathfinder Bank, Rombough Electric, Inc., Fulton Savings Bank, C’s Farm Market and Oswego Elks Lodge #271, according to Mary Vanouse, Oswego’s community development director.
More information and registration forms for all events can be found at www.warmuposwego.com
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