January 2012, eh, ooo, eh, ooo

In January of 2012, Mother Nature has not been very nice to Jack Frost and those of us who love Winter and/or Winter activities. The temperature has fluctuated from the single digits to the upper 50's causing us to have a roller coaster of snow, rain, snow, rain to no snow and it is has not been a fun ride. Holiday Valley and HoliMont have been working hard to create a lot of snow to keep skiers and boarders happy while snowmobilers, cross country skiiers, and snowshoers have had to wait on Mother Nature.

Enjoy the Weather while you can

The Good: I stayed in a cabin over the weekend at snowy Allegany State Park with Troop 652 Boy Scouts and Pack 652 Cub Scouts where we practiced knife/tool safety, fire building, sledding and ate big meals. Naturalists stopped by with a variety of snowshoes and took us on a fun snowshoeing adventure to look for signs of animals. The Allegany State Park Historical Society were enjoying the snowy outdoors in a cabin nearby. The Bad: This week has been too warm and rainy causing the ground to look like Spring is here.

Good Snowy Weather on the way

According to the weather forecast, this the next 7 days will be more of the same (see local TV stations WIVB, WKBW, WGRZ), HOWEVER, according to the Farmer's Almanac February will have lots of snow for us!

February 2012: temperature 20° (4° below avg.); precipitation 1" (1" below avg.); Feb 1-3: Snow showers, turning milder; Feb 4-6: Lake snows, very cold; Feb 7-11: Sunny, mild, then snow showers, cold; Feb 12-16: Snow showers, cold; Feb 17-19: Lake snows, very cold; Feb 20-22: Snow, then snow showers, cold; Feb 23-29: Snow showers, seasonable. (Farmer's Almanac - http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/region/us/6)

I'm hoping for tons of snow for the next 2 months. Yes, that is right ... for the next TWO months until March 31st, 2012. Winter enthusiasts WANT snow!

New Visitor's Guide to give you ideas on what to do

While we are always making improvements to this site we also publish a magazine every year.

Did you see the newest visitor's guide for Cattaraugus County (our yearly magazine)? It is 54+ pages of cool events, locations, a map, directories and more in Cattaraugus County. Deb Opferbeck, Tourism Specialist, had requested awesome photos from photographers on Flickr (join the group), local businesses and from some local pros.

Check out the guide online or request that we mail you a copy!

We'd love to hear from you!

Please leave a comment below about the weather and/or the new magazine !