Montreal's artificial outdoor rinks closed due to warm weather
Refrigerated outdoor rinks usually open in December but today's high 12 C above average
Apparently even Montreal's artificial outdoor rinks can't handle the unseasonably warm weather.
While it's not unusual in recent years for natural outdoor rinks to remain closed for several more weeks than they used to be, refrigerated rinks are usually open by early December.
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The refrigerated rink in Confederation Park in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, for instance – operated with the help of the Montreal Canadiens' charity foundation Bleu, Blanc, Bouge – opened with a party on Dec. 5.
But it's now closed for the foreseeable future.
Sophie Landreville, a spokesperson for the borough of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, said it's been too hot to keep the rink open this year, even with a refrigeration system.
Landreville said she doesn't know when it will open.
"We can't predict the weather," she said.
The skating rink at Beaver Lake was scheduled to open tomorrow, but that has also been put on hold indefinitely.
The temperature in Montreal today was 12 C above the average, according to Environment Canada.
Last year on this day, the city was hit with 20 cm of snow.