By Justin Rushia
Higher winter temperatures and declining snowfall, driven by climate change in the Adirondacks, has become an economic and cultural concern for outdoor enthusiasts and area businesses.
“At the most basic level, winters aren’t as cold as they used to be,” Sunita Halasz, a clean water community advocate for the Adirondack Council and member of the Adirondack Climate Outreach and Resilience Network, said. “Spring shows up early, and we’re seeing more intense storms, particularly flooding, but we’ve also had droughts.”
Halasz explained that these weather shifts trigger cascading effects throughout the region. Forests, wetlands, and lakes are stressed; harmful algal blooms and invasive species are on the rise; and unpredictable freeze-thaw cycles force towns to use more road salt, which harms both the environment and drinking water.
Halasz, who participated in a multi-organization group that recently held community climate resilience listening sessions throughout the 14 counties of Northern NY, added that the human impacts are just as significant. Residents of the Adirondacks are dealing with spikes in heat-related illness, more ice-related injuries on ski slopes, and air quality alerts from wildfire smoke drifting into the region.
“People talked about warming winters affecting their pride in being from the very cold North Country. All aspects of our communities and our collective psyche end up being affected by global warming,” Halasz said.
Brody Olden, vice President of SUNY Plattsburgh’s Ski and Outdoors Club, has spent nearly his whole life on the slopes of the Adirondacks. A Chestertown native, Olden has noticed a trend over the past few years: the ski season is creeping later into winter.
“When I was younger, I remember being able to ski the glades as early as December,” Olden said. “Now we don’t get enough snow for that until late January or even February. The seasons are starting later and ending earlier.”
Olden’s observations align with regional data from the New York State Climate Impacts Assessment, which show that parts of northern New York have lost up to 3 weeks of snow cover compared to the 1980s.
Traditionally, in the Adirondacks, it is common for resort trails to be open and busy on Thanksgiving weekend. Now, Mountains such as Whiteface and Gore, which were once packed with early-season visitors, face unpredictable and limited openings.
To make up for lost snow, resorts like Gore and Whiteface rely heavily on artificial snowmaking.
“Artificial snow’s good for laying a base,” Olden said. “But if it’s even a little warm, it’ll just turn right back into ice before it turns into snow.”
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, winter precipitation in New York is expected to decrease as snow, even though total winter precipitation may slightly increase, producing rain rather than snow.
The process of artificial snowmaking mixes water and compressed air, then blasts tiny droplets into the air, where they freeze before hitting the ground. But it only works when temperatures drop below about 28°F.
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that average winter temperatures in the Adirondack region have risen by nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s.
Louis Lang, a Gore Mountain employee and lifelong skier, said that resorts like Gore are spending more on snowmaking technology just to stay open, even as the energy costs to run these machines climb.
“We have to cover almost all the trails with snowmaking because there isn’t enough natural snow anymore,” Lang said. “Gore has around a hundred snow guns, and they run a lot when it’s cold enough. But if the weather warms up, it’s hard to keep that snow from melting.”
Lang also pointed out that the changes in weather affect more than just the condition of the trails; they also affect revenue.
“If there’s no snow, fewer people come to ski,” Lang said. “If people aren’t coming to ski, the mountain loses money, and employees get less hours. Warmer winters are making it tough for everyone.”
A decline in the number of skiers not only affects the mountain itself but also the local businesses around it. Restaurants, hotels, gas stations and outdoor shops rely on a steady flow of winter visitors. A lack of traffic can result in significant financial losses for the entire community.
Many Adirondack residents rely on seasonal jobs, like those at Gore, to make ends meet. This forces these workers to find other off-season employment, which isn’t always available in small Adirondack towns.
According to Halasz, this financial pressure extends far beyond ski resorts.
Climate change is exposing weaknesses in the Adirondack region’s housing and infrastructure. Much of the housing stock is old, drafty, and difficult to upgrade, she said.
“Climate change just makes the situation more dire. People need insulation, heat pumps, weatherproofing—but there aren’t enough contractors, and funding is limited,” Halasz said.
Without quality housing, communities struggle to attract and retain skilled workers, which affects school enrollment, healthcare access, and local tax bases.
Flooding has also become a major financial burden.
“Counties and towns are dealing with unprecedented road repair costs,” Halasz said. “At the homeowner level, people are having basement flooding, driveway washouts, and this can be tens of thousands of dollars in damage, often not covered by insurance. Or it can be a smaller-scale problem, but still stressful and expensive, like a resident can’t get out of their driveway to go to work for a few days.”
The changing weather has even affected events here at SUNY Plattsburgh. Each year, the ski and outdoors club hosts Rail Jam, a freestyle skiing and snowboarding competition event on the hill outside of Memorial Hall.
“A lot of the time, we have to bring in snow from other places,” Olden said. “Two years ago, the rail area was all ice and trucked in snow. Last season, we got lucky with a big storm and actually had powder for Rail Jam.”
“We’re not sure yet how the event is gonna turn out,” Olden said. “But we try to stay optimistic.”
