Do you miss old man winter?

January is normally a busy month for snow removal, but with unseasonably warm temperatures in the forecast, some are making the most of the winter delay.

“A storm can consume three to four days so the month of January usually goes by pretty fast,” said Jarred McKinlay, general manager of snow and maintenance at Landscape Effects.

However, this January has been warmer than usual with no snow events so far, and none on the radar.

“Winter is coming eventually so don't ask us to open your pool yet,” McKinlay joked, saying customers have called inquiring about having unseasonal work done.

“We've got a few crews that are out doing things that they normally wouldn't be doing in January with cleanups and pouring concrete and things like that.”

McKinlay says the free time has been put to good use with work being done on various projects within the group of companies that might have gotten lost during a busy snowy month.

He also points to one of their salt domes as an example of how the season has gone.

McKinlay says the dome usually gets refilled four or five times a season but it still has over half of its original inventory. That’s because Windsor-Essex has only had one major winter event (before Christmas) and two minor snowfalls (mid-November and mid-December).

“Absolutely it's good,” said Phong Nguy, executive director of operations for the City of Windsor. “Give us a little time to catch up and do a lot of puddle patching and sewer cleaning.”

The City of Windsor has also been able to take care of sidewalk maintenance.

Nguy says salt trucks have been deployed throughout the season in anticipation of ice on the road.

“It's too early for the winter to be over so again, we're still expecting snow and we're fully prepared,” he said.

Construction crews have been able to take advantage of the temperatures. Charlie Kalifahe, maintenance supervisor for Tri-World Development, says crews have been able to prep, and in some cases, pour driveways and patios at their Lily Mac development on Howard Avenue.

“Usually if it's raining or heavy snow some of the contractors won't work but with the weather we've been getting lately it's been moving pretty good,” he said.

Good for business but a setback for snow enthusiasts like Michael Dean.

“(I) grew up a couple hours north of Toronto,” said Dean. “Kinda missing the snow. Waiting to get the snowboard out of my closet.”    

Andromeda Dean can't wait for her outdoor rink to freeze again.

Her family has been building their rink for the past 19 years and were thrilled to enjoy four days of skating during the regions only winter storm before Christmas.

“Only twice have we skated at Christmas,” she said.

The family took full advantage knowing the arctic blast wouldn’t last.

“We're optimistic by the end of January we'll get some ice back and we'll have it all of February so we're ok with that,” Andromeda said. “Hopefully.”