Snow good: Businesses, kids deal with warm weather in New Brunswick

Josh Cormier has been plowing driveways and parking lots in the greater Moncton area for twenty years, but he hasn't been very busy lately.

By this time last year, crews from Cormier Property Management had made at least ten trips to clear snow from commercial and residential properties.

Due to the lack of snow this year, they've gone out just once.

"As far as commercial stuff, we have some clients who pay us for the season. Residential stuff, you get 100 or more driveways. People want to pay by the time. If they're home, they may want to do their own driveways every once in a while but we go out and do them. If you're relying on that to make tractor payments, it's pretty rough," said Cormier.

The lack of seasonal snow is also tough on businesses that sell and service all-terrain vehicles and snow blowers.

Jon Arsenault, the store manager at Broadview Powersports in Riverview, N.B., said the lack of snow is definitely affecting business there.

"We're not selling as many snow blowers as we normally would this time of year. We really do need the snow to fall and for people's machines to break and need service, or for them to decide to get a new unit," said Arsenault.

It was anything but wonderful at the Winter Wonderland Park in Riverview Wednesday.

The sliding and snowboard hills were closed and so too was the skating pond. Both were reduced to nothing more than slush.

CTV's Kalin Mitchell says snow is expected for the Moncton area Thursday afternoon through Friday near lunchtime.

Total snowfall could approach 10 centimetres, but no significant snow is expected until early next week.

Despite the lack of snow, there was no way Jacqueline Cormier was going to deny her daughter's birthday wish.

Mylene wanted to go sliding for her seventh birthday so the family came to Moncton's centennial park to slide on a grassy, icy hill.

"We didn't really notice until we got here and she said, 'Maybe we'll have to go to the park instead,' but we said we'd try it and they're having fun anyways. But there is very little snow," said Cormier.

Jo Ann Colepaugh and her grandson Otto were visiting from Miramichi, 90 minutes north of Moncton. There isn't much snow there either.

"We have a little bit of snow, a little bit of ice. Too mild for any snow to stay but we make our fun," said Colepaugh.

Otto shouted out an enthusiastic "yeah!" and then hit the hill one more time for the day.