July 18, 2014 at 4:32 p.m.
Wet summer dampens Northwoods recreation
Wet summer dampens Northwoods recreation
It's true that Rhinelander has seen its share of sunny days this summer, but there's no denying it hasn't been the ideal summer.
Ashley Allen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Green Bay, said it hasn't necessarily been a chilly summer so far in Northern Wisconsin. Instead, it's been just plain wet.
"This summer is actually averaging about 63.7 degrees in Rhinelander," she said. "Last year, our average up to this point was about 60.3 degrees, so it's actually been warmer than last year. The average for June historically is about 62.7, so we were actually up from that too. Where we are seeing a difference though is in precipitation. Last year, we had about 5.3 inches of rainfall. That's up from the historical June average of 3.89 and this year we're even higher with 6.73 inches of precipitation. So you're getting a lot of rain."
It's no secret that a chief industry in the Northwoods during the summer months is tourism, and rainy weather isn't exactly a boost in that regard.
Brian Lutz, a manager at Mel's Trading Post in Rhinelander, said they haven't experienced a huge drop off in sales despite the rainy conditions. Instead, they've seen their sales shift to more weather-appropriate products.
"If people are going to get outside, they're going to get outside," Lutz said. "We've had a really positive year for coats, which says to me that people aren't letting the rain keep them from heading outdoors. We've sold a lot of backpacks and a lot of skiing gear too."
That's proved true for a lot of Northwoods businesses that rely heavily on summer tourists. Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dana DeMet said so far things have been just a little slow, but there are signs that business is picking up quickly.
"I haven't seen our lodging numbers yet but, anecdotally, what I'm hearing from a lot of our lodgers is that we're still looking at a two-week lag from where we'd typically be because of the late let out of the schools all around the state," he said. "When the numbers come out, I'm interested to see if that trend continued. (What) we have been hearing from a lot of our resorts was that the Fourth of July was a little slower than normal, but we're also hearing now that a lot of them are booked up solid through August. In that sense, we're doing well."
That doesn't mean all summer activities are persisting through the heavy rains. Abbey Bruso is a lifeguard at Hodag Park and she said this year has been noticeably slower.
"I've had my lifeguard license since I was a junior in high school and I'm 20 now," she said. "I've been working at the YMCA for the last two years, and they supply the lifeguards here at Hodag Park. There were definitely more people last year. It's been overcast a lot, and on days like that, people just don't really show up. The average on a rainy day are about four people and they don't even swim. They're just people walking down or something. During (the Hodag Country Festival) it's usually really, really busy but the weather was bad. No one showed up. We had three lifeguards here with no swimmers because of the weather."
For the most part though, summer life has gone on for Northwoods tourists. DeMet said conditions may not be perfect, but that's not stopping people from enjoying themselves. Last weekend's Hodag Country Festival is a prime example of that.
"Fishermen have told me the colder water temps have made fishing a little bit challenging, but we've still been getting a lot of people coming into the visitor's center asking for fishing maps and looking for good spots to go out," DeMet said. "If you look at the numbers that showed for the Hodag Country Festival this year, those were some of the biggest crowds I've seen in a long time. With the rain and cold we had over that weekend, nobody turned around and went home. If people want to come up and it's part of their regular summer plans, they're going to do it. I don't think the weather is going to effect that too much."
It's only mid-July, and there's still plenty of summer to go, but if the weather keeps up, Rhinelander has a decent shot at nearing the state record for summer precipitation.
Local business owners would certainly be happy if the opposite was true though. A sunny, warm August would be just what the doctor ordered. Either way, life goes on though. It's another summer in the Northwoods.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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