This month is shaping up to be one of the warmest on record.
“It's definitely going down as one of the warmer Januarys for sure,” said CTV British Columbia meteorologist Jesse Mason. “And possibly the warmest one on record, at least since record keeping began.”
Usually, Metro Vancouver is at 3 or 4 degrees during the day. Lately, the area has been hitting 7 degrees.
Mother Nature couldn’t have picked a worst time to break records.
2010 Vancouver Olympic organizers have been scrambling to prepare Cypress Mountain in time for the Games.
They’re using bales of straw to build up corners and jumps on the snowboarding and freestyle skiing venues.
Like clockwork, truckloads of straw arrive, are unloaded, and then plucked by helicopter to be dropped on the courses.
Meanwhile, snow from higher elevations are being pushed onto the courses.
It’s not cheap. Each bale of straw costs several hundred dollars. The choppers cost at least $1,000 an hour.
Organizers have said their contingency fund is covering the costs.
As for what Mother Nature will bring during the Games? It’s too early to say, Mason said.
But “things could still change.”
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Mike Killeen
