WATERVILLE — There wasn’t much, if any, snow on the ground through much of central Maine this weekend. Relatively warm temperatures and slight rain had swept through the area in the week prior.

But at the end of a mile long dirt path tucked beneath Interstate 95, the hills and slopes of the Quarry Road Trails are blanketed with about 2 feet of bright white man-made snow.

Maine has had an unpredictable winter so far. The first snow of the year came unseasonably late in late November, and despite the brief threat of flash flooding and a few inches of snow in December, temperatures around the state have remained relatively high.

“We got a little snow around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then we had our annual rain that washed it all away,” said Jerry Combs, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.

Snowfall totals in southern and western Maine are “well below normal” this season, Combs said, and have decreased across the state in recent years. Climate models forecast this winter will likely come with above-average temperatures and more precipitation than normal for most of Maine, but less snowfall overall.

“In recent years, snowfall has been decreasing from November to March, but we also haven’t gotten halfway through the winter yet,” Combs said. “We’ve definitely gone lower on the snow overall for the last several years. It’s just kind of on a downward trend.”

While warming winters are leaving many recreation businesses who rely on cold and snow without a vital lifeline, others are turning to man-made snow: like Quarry Road.

A fan gun snowmaking machine is seen Saturday at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“We’ve become a mecca of sorts because nowhere else has snow, quite literally,” said Victor Esposito Jr., Quarry Road’s lead ski coach. “People come from all over, 20, 30, 40 miles, because we’re not a two-hour drive like most of the resorts and we don’t charge anywhere near as much: And we actually have snow.”

Maine’s winters are becoming warmer and less predictable, recent data shows. Climate change is transforming winter into the fastest warming season in the U.S. as Maine and most of New England experiences hotter temperatures both on land and sea.

The rest of the winter is predicted to be warmer than usual, Combs said, though there are equal chances of receiving more or less precipitation than normal. But with higher temperatures statewide, less of that precipitation is expected to be snow.

“There could still be warmer periods and colder periods, but for January, February and March, the outlook is to be above normal,” Combs said.

Esposito, 78, has overseen Quarry Road’s downhill skiing trails since 2020. While smaller slopes and sometimes large resorts increasingly remain without snow during peak ski season, Quarry Road maintains a layer of fresh artificial snow all winter long each year.

Victor Esposito Jr., Quarry Road Trail’s lead ski coach, is seen Saturday at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

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Maine’s winter recreation “destination points” — places across the state with hotels, restaurants, gas stations and natural beauty — can be put out of business by a bad winter, said Mark Latti, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s communications director. It’s something that’s happening with an increasing frequency, he said.

“It happens from Limerick to Madawaska and from Rangeley to Eastport,” Latti said. “This is big money.”

Without consistent snowfall and cold temperatures, trails and ski slopes are hard to maintain, and businesses that depend on winter tourism have struggled to keep up, especially in the last five years.

At the same time, Esposito said Quarry Road has thrived. He began creating artificial snow for the trails in 2020 and offering seasonal passes at discounted rates through partnerships with local businesses — effectively filling an increasing gap in winter recreation fueled by warming weather each year.

More people are buying ski passes at Quarry Road each season, and Esposito said he plans to expand its operations next year to accommodate rising demand.

“We’re going to bring the downhill slope to the top of this hill, and hopefully build a T-bar (ski lift) in the next few years,” Esposito said. “More people are coming here, we’ve got the room for it.”

About a dozen skiers were gliding through Quarry Road’s cross country trails by noontime Saturday while dozens of cross country skiers from across the state competed in a competition on the nearby Nordic skiing trails. The Bethel Relays were moved to Quarry Road due to a lack of snow in southern and western Maine.

Kolby Lajoie, 10, of Belgrade makes a run down the Alpine ski hill Saturday at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Heather Lajoie and her son Kolby, a 10-year-old student at Belgrade Central School, bought passes for Quarry Road’s downhill slope. Kolby was just finishing his skiing lesson that day, and Heather said she planned to sign up for lessons of her own.

Neither would have had the opportunity to try skiing if not for Quarry Road, Heather Lajoie said, in large part due to the increasing lack of snow through each subsequent winter.

“I mean, it just doesn’t snow like it used to,” she said. “It’s really nice having this here because otherwise we’d have literally nowhere nearby to ski.”

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PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) – The Windham community spent Friday night honoring the life of a beloved resident who died late last year. Friday night’s Maine Celtics game paid tribute to Pat Moody, a former youth sports coach who was always helping others.

“He loved his community, and he loved seeing people be happy, in particular around the game of basketball,” said Dajuan Eubanks, president of the Maine Celtics told our media partner, WMTW. “It was an honor to know him.”

Cheering and clapping are typical for any basketball game, but honoring someone like Pat Moody brought everyone to their feet. The entire arena stood up to take a moment to celebrate the life and legacy of the Windham native as his loved ones took to the court during the second timeout of the first quarter.

“He’s like the mayor of Windham,” said Tyler Graves, Moody’s lifelong friend. “He’s touched so many different lives over the years.”

Moody died in November from cancer. While he may be gone, the memory of him isn’t. A basketball court now stands in his name, and his legacy as a beloved advocate for youth sports continues on.

“It was great to know him,” Eubanks said. “He was just a very enthusiastic and energetic guy, always had kind words to say, and was always caring.”

Friday night’s game had a 50/50 raffle benefiting the Pat Moody Foundation. The foundation was started to provide ongoing support to the Windham community, especially for youth sports. The raffle raised nearly $2,000 for the foundation, which the Maine Celtics say is a record high for them this season.

“Do whatever you can to give back. Small acts of kindness can really transform into something greater,” Graves said. “It’s kind of what Pat believed as well.”

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ORONO — With two of the top three scoring teams in the country on the ice, of course a low-scoring game was the result.

In Friday’s matchup of top-10 teams, the first of two games went to No. 6 Denver, in heartbreaking fashion for seventh-ranked Maine. The Pioneers scored with 20.7 seconds left, on a shot from the point by Cale Ashcroft that deflected off the shin guard of Maine’s David Breazeale and past goalie Albin Boija, giving the reigning NCAA champions a 2-1 win at Alfond Arena.

It came after Maine (12-4-2) lost a faceoff in its defensive zone, then blocked the initial shot. For Maine coach Ben Barr, it was an another example of not doing all the little things in a close game against a strong opponent. In that regard, it was similar to Sunday’s 4-2 loss to Bentley in Portland.

“Our margin of error, and this has been for the whole time that we’ve been here, our margin of error is very, very small. When you play teams like (Denver), that one faceoff matters. It’s disappointing,” Barr said. “We just didn’t do enough to win.”

Both teams are also among the best in the nation in scoring defense. Only Minnesota State allows fewer goals per game than Maine’s 1.76, while Denver (15-4) is tied for seventh in the country, allowing two goals per game. For most of the game, Maine’s defensive effort was strong. Denver went into the game tied with Minnesota as the top scoring team in the country, averaging four goals per game (Maine is third at 3.88 goals per game). While the Pioneers had just four shots in the third period, the winning goal came when the Black Bears couldn’t clear the puck, and Denver had scoring chances throughout the game that were the result of defensive miscues, only for the Black Bears to be bailed out by Boija (22 saves)

“Our guys played hard. We still have two or three players on the back end that are unplayable, and that makes it really hard on the rest of the guys,” Barr said. “They try, it’s just hasn’t clicked for them for some reason. We’ve got to help them.”

A captain, Breazeale agreed that the Black Bears need to do more.

“There’s definitely some good to take away from it. It’s just that last 1% that we as a collective team have got to take forward,” he said. “We made one block, and the puck’s bouncing around. There’s no excuse for it. We’ve got to be able to respond in those big moments, all five guys on the ice, and we weren’t able to do it tonight.”

Denver took a 1-0 lead with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 2:53 of the second period. Near the left post, Carter King stuffed in the rebound of a shot by Aidan Thompson that ricocheted off the boards behind the net.

The Black Bears tied the game at 18:37 of the second on Frank Djurasevic’s power-play goal past Pioneer goalie Matt Davis (29 saves).

In the third period, Barr shuffled his top two lines, moving wing Josh Nadeau to play with center Harrison Scott and wing Thomas Freel, while moving Ross Mitton to a line with center Nolan Renwick and wing Taylor Makar – a trio that played well together early in the season.

“We were trying to get Josh going. I thought he was a little stale in the first couple periods, to be honest. I thought he was better in the third,” Barr said.

Barr also moved Owen Fowler from wing to center, on a line with wings Anthony Calafiore and Nicholas Niemo. With captain Lyden Breen out indefinitely because of a leg injury, the Black Bears are short-handed at center, Barr said. Right now, he’s trying to find guys who can take draws and win faceoffs.

The loss stings, Breazeale said, but there’s no time to dwell on it. These teams face each at Alfond Arena again at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We feel like we’ve got a lot to prove as a team,” Breazeale said, “and tomorrow night we’ve got to come out with that for 60 more minutes.”

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