P.E.I.'s warm weather welcome for some, worrisome for others

With P.E.I. temperatures Monday peaking at 9 C,many Islanders took advantage of the balmy weather to get outside and get active.

Charlottetown saw a high of 8 C, with Tignish and St. Peters topping out at 9. That's12 to 14 degreeswarmer than normal for Feb. 1.Southwest winds are bringing warmer air throughout the Maritimes and all along the Eastern Seabord, with Boston, Massachusetts hitting 18 degrees.

"It feels melty, it's nice," said Izzy Fitzpatrick as she and a friend walked their dogs in downtown Charlottetown.

Environment Canada'sforecast predicts temperatures will see-saw between 6 C Tuesday, back up to 9 C Friday, then down again Saturday to 7 C, with not much precipitation in sight.

"It's beautiful, it's nice to be outside. It's warm," enthused Carolyn Gallant as she took her toddler for a stroll along the capital's boardwalk.

"I love it, after last winter, it's a breath of fresh air," said Mark Mullin.

The somewhat mushy ice was not ideal for skating, but that didn't stop Logan MacNeill and Allison Dempsey from strapping on the blades for a spin around the city's ice patch in front of Founder's Hall at the foot of Prince St.

"This is probably not the best at all, but make the best of it and she wanted to skate," said MacNeil.

Temperatures need to be 6 or below to keep ice hard, so it's tough to keep those outdoor rinks open in this weather, city officials said.

"A day like really compromises of the integrity of the ice and the ice surface, so it's back to the drawing board for a lot of our rinks," said Mitchell Tweel, chair of Charlottetown's parks and recreation committee.

Some like it cold

Workers packing snow at the Charlottetown Event Grounds for the annual Jack Frost Festival are also hoping for colder temperatures soon.

"It's pretty balmy right now, but we're well-planned for this," assured Tracey Singleton with Versatile Management Group. "We've had lots of snow being trucked in over the last few days."

Festival workers have covered their snow structures with tarpaulins to slow melting. Officials also plan to have more people working at night when temperatures are colder.

"Colder is always better," said Singleton."I would love to see a little bit more snow in the forecast over the next couple of weeks."

Farmers are keeping a close eye on the weather too. Snow cover on fields helps the soil retain moisture and prevents topsoil from blowing away. The PEI Federation of Agriculture said isn't overly concerned right now. The past few years farmers have struggled with too much snow staying on fields delaying crop planting.