.jpg)
While it's not in the forecast just yet, it was already snowing in a portion of Sioux Falls Tuesday morning. Great Bear Recreation Park turned on its snow making machines for the first time this season.
It's a sight you usually don't see until a little later in November. But when the weather gets cold, it's something officials at Great Bear say they have to take advantage of.
And even though it's going to warm back up, they're not too worried about it.
"You play it day by day right now," Great Bear General Manager Dan Grider says.
And it's a good day when it comes to snow making. With temperatures dipping well below freezing the past few nights, Grider says they've been able to pump out snow for the first time.
"What we've got on the hill, and we'll make some more tonight, will stick. And then when it gets cold again, we’ll make some more. But you just kind have to start building on it," Grider says.
He says the colder it gets, the more snow they can make. Less humidity also helps. And even though the weather is supposed to heat up, he says the slopes will stay white.
"The ski and snow board slopes, you know, have a northern exposure that’s great. The tubing hill has a southern exposure so it's a little more difficult to get snow early season to stay there. But of course this time of year the sun is low in the sky," Grider said.
He says the temperatures become more of an issue when the sun gets higher in the sky in February and March. But for now, it's off to a great start.
"It was great to see snow on the ground," Grider says.
He likes to have a 12 to 18 inch base to open the hill. Last year, Great Bear made all the snow they needed in just three days. But of course, it all depends on Mother Nature.