THUNDER BAY -- A great start to the ski season has run into a weather roadblock.
Despite a healthy snowfall late in November, owners of the Loch Lomond Ski Hill say they'll be unable to open this weekend because o the unprecedented rain that fell earlier this week.
Environment Canada believes as much as 85 millimetres of rain touched down in the area Monday, shattering the all-time November record of 63 millimetres in November of 1973.
The rain and mild temperatures ate away at Loch Lomond's snow base. Ski Hill owner Jason Gerry says there was about 12 centimetres of snow pack before the rain came.
While this is bad news for the snow-based business, Gerry does says this dark cloud comes with a silver lining.
"We've got tonnes of water for snowmaking this year," he sid during an interview with CKPR Radio Thursday. "So our anticipating is we'll be able to make piles of man-made snow and have a great season.
"We've expanded our snowmaking coverage this year, so having this water will be a real plus for us."
