Parts of U.S. Experience Warm Winter

Chicago school teacher Pat Rosen takes advantage of the warm weather to get in a round of golf at the Marovitz Golf Course in Chicago near Lake Michigan during the holiday school break Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (Charles Rex Arbogast - AP)

But the mild weather is also hurting some businesses and events.

In Minnesota, where a water skier in a wetsuit was recently seen on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, ice fishing tournaments have been canceled. The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships _ scheduled for Jan. 19-21 in Minneapolis _ have only a 50-50 chance of being held.

And organizers of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, scheduled to begin late this month, said the ice is not thick enough to harvest into 1,400 blocks for the ice maze. They may have to switch to plastic blocks.

"It would give the effect, but it's not exactly Minnesota winter," said Mary Huss, a spokeswoman for the event.

In Ohio, Dan Motz said sales for his firewood business in a Cincinnati suburb are down about 25 percent.

In Maryland, buds are appearing on apple and peach trees, raising the prospect of a poor spring crop if a sudden cold snap kills the blossoms. A gradual cooldown would minimize any damage.

In New Jersey, the Mountain Creek ski resort in Vernon is struggling to open more trails. There haven't been many nights cold enough to make snow.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that the cold weather will get here soon," resort spokeswoman Shannon McSweeney said. "Either that, or sending trucks out to Colorado to steal some of their snow."

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Associated Press writers Archie Ingersoll in Minneapolis, Chris Williams in Minneapolis, Ben Greeve in Baltimore, Michael Felberbaum in Richmond, Va., Wayne Parry in Kenilworth, N.J., Terry Kinney in Cincinnati, Nahal Toosi in New York and Laurel Jorgensen in Chicago also contributed to this report.