Kingston’s mild winter no reason to panic, expert says
Global News
After a very mild winter in Kingston that saw historically low lake ice coverage, Warren Mabee from Queen's University says the weather is no reason to panic.
Winter in Kingston kicked off with the city’s annual Santa Claus parade last December.
It saw plenty of festive cheer and all the signs of the season — except the snow.
This winter in Kingston has been an unusually mild one.
“The last nine months, actually, have been the warmest months sort of on record. We’ve been setting records steadily,” said Warren Mabee, director of the Queen’s University Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy.
For the team at Downtown Kingston, an uneasy winter makes planning outdoor events all the more difficult.
“Because of what’s happening with the environment and the lack of snow, or the inconsistency of snow and ice, a lot of things that we used to do for FebFest we cannot do,” Downtown Kingston executive director Marijo Cuerrier said.
It’s not just FebFest, Kingston’s annual winter festival, that suffered either.
Cuerrier recalled that in 2022, the BIA had set up a number of themed skate nights at the Market Square rink and had to cancel each one due to the mild weather.