Maine
Warming winters turn Waterville into unexpected skiing destination
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
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.”
Many Maine municipalities will open cooling centers this week with the National Weather Service issuing a variety of heat advisories covering the next few days.
The Maine DEP also issued an air quality alert for Wednesday with ground-level ozone expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
All of York County, interior Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, and the southern half of Oxford County will fall under an extreme heat warning from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday.
The warning calls for “dangerously hot conditions” that could feature heat index values of up to 110 degrees, with overnight lows only expected to fall into the 70s, according to the weather service’s office in Gray.
The rest of the state — save northern Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset counties — falls under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the weather service has also placed much of the state under an extreme heat watch for Thursday.
Heat index values, which measure how hot it feels to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, are expected to reach up to 104 degrees during the heat advisory period, the weather service warns. They could reach 110 degrees Thursday, when the extreme heat watch is in effect.
Northern Oxford and Franklin counties, and central Somerset County, can expect a heat index value of up to 99 degrees Wednesday, according to the weather service.
The weather service advises people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, avoid extended periods in the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. It also warns not to leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles, as “car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
Cooling Centers
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has also issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday along the coast from Kittery to Acadia National Park. The agency warns that ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Ozone levels may reach “moderate levels” further inland, according to the Maine DEP, including in all of Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, as well as parts of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York counties.
Elevated ozone levels can pose a risk to children, older adults and people suffering from respiratory or heart diseases, according to the Maine DEP. Anyone exerting themselves outdoors may also experience health effects, which could include coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation and mild chest pain.
Ozone levels were already climbing in southern New England on Tuesday, according to the Maine DEP, and winds are expected to bring those conditions to Maine on Wednesday.
The Maine DEP recommends that vulnerable populations avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep windows closed, and circulate indoor air with fans or air conditioners. Those with asthma are also advised to keep quick-relief medication handy.
Particle pollution levels are also expected to be moderate across the state on Wednesday due to wildfire smoke, the Maine DEP said in its announcement Tuesday. Wildfires in Colorado, which have claimed the lives of three firefighters, had burned nearly 90,000 acres as of Tuesday, according to the Denver Post.
Maine could face up to $50 million in penalties next year due to errors in its payments for federal food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture find that Maine’s error rate last year was nearly 11%, the bulk of which were overpayments. That’s in line with the U.S. average. But starting in October of next year, states with error rates above 6% must cover a portion of the SNAP benefits.
Anna Korsen, executive director of Full Plates, Full Potential, said the overpayments aren’t fraud — they’re human error. She said this new cost-shifting policy enacted last year under the Trump administration further complicates the SNAP application process.
“Instead, we could make this program more accessible and more efficient,” Korsen said. “And that would reduce the number of errors and also ensure that Mainers who are eligible for SNAP have access to it.”
She’s urging Congress to delay or reverse the policy under the farm bill that’s currently under consideration.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services said it’s taking steps to reduce the error rate, including modernizing its systems and hiring an additional 40 eligibility specialists.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
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