Winter warm-up gives chances to play, work outside

FRANKLIN -- People across southeastern Wisconsin got the chance to come out of their shells with our latest warm up.  For many, that meant playing on the slopes.  For others, it meant getting to work.



Highs in the mid-30s Sunday brought Terry Coleman and his son out of hibernation.

 


\"It's his first time tubing,\" Coleman said.  \"He's two-and-a-half and we thought, since it warmed up, we'd take him  outside.\"



Places like The Rock were happy to see families enjoy the slopes.  Last week's arctic blast forced them to close Monday and Tuesday.

 


\"That was too cold,\" Snow Park Manager Joe Zimmerman said.  \"As far as the safety of our employees, our season pass holders, the people that  use our hill, it's gotta be our number one priority.\"



The up and down nature of Wisconsin winters makes maintaining the snow difficult at times, but  Zimmerman runs his groomers up to twice daily to keep his hills in good shape.



\"Sometimes the snow is really slippery, sometimes it's slower, so it's always fighting that battle,\" Zimmerman said.  \"But when the weather's great, you don't have to put as many layers on.\"



But the warm up didn't only mean fun and games...



Puhl's True Value in Wauwatosa stayed busy with do-it-yourselfers picking up tools, parts and rock salt.  A lot of rock salt.



\"There's less of the snow melting product available,\" manager Terry Famularo said.  \"There was considerably more of it [Saturday] and there's a run on it.\"



Puhl's went through 12 pallets of salt Saturday and sold its last three bags early Sunday afternoon.  That meant Tyrell Cook had to get an ice scraper for his driveway;  a job he's a lot happier doing in Sunday's weather.



\"Oh yeah, if it was minus-15, I wouldn't even be standing out here,\" Cook said.

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