For the second straight day, rain, wind and warm winter temperatures Wednesday turned the Exhibition Park ice oval into a 400-metre ring of water, forcing closure of the popular facility.
The weather today won't allow skaters to return to the oval, with windy conditions and a mixture of sun and cloud and a high of 2 C. Wind gusts could reach 50 kilometres per hour.
But the good news for the oval enthusiasts is the mercury is expected to dip tonight to -7 C, with a cloudy high of -2 C predicted for Friday. That kind of cooling trend would come as welcome news to Ice Oval Society president Kathy Lewis.
"We closed it, anticipating it would get worse and worse, and if we can keep people off of it we can salvage as much ice as we can," said Lewis. "Hopefully it will be open on the weekend but it really is dependent on if we get the cold weather by Friday or not.
"The lack of snow this winter has been good because it takes so much time to clear the ice each time it snows. It's been well used and it looks like a lot of people are paying user fees. I think the word is definitely getting out now."
Although it opened on Dec. 6, a couple weeks later than last year, more skaters are making use of the oval each day, with 3,336 users counted in four weeks. Warm conditions forced closure for four days in December.
"We've had so many more skaters through the gate and so many more kids are coming out with their families, and that's great," said Dick Voneugen, who volunteers to oversee equipment maintenance at the oval.
"It's our 13th year since we started this thing and got some heavy equipment. All told, there are about eight or nine people [who volunteer to maintain the ice] and it runs pretty well."
The oval is in its fourth season at its current location west of the Kin Centre.
With less than seven weeks to go before the Prince George Iceman, the city's biggest annual sporting event, Lewis expects an influx of skaters coming out to practice for the five-kilometre skating leg of the Feb. 12 multisport endurance race.
"Iceman registration just opened, so I expect to see more long blades practicing down there," said Lewis.
The oval is open most days from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Admission is $2 per skater or $5 per family. Additional donations are also welcome.
