Amid Mild Weather, Slopes Were Quiet This Weekend At Welch Village

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Mild weather and rain really put a damper on things at Welch Village. Normally, they expect a couple thousand people on the hill when it's a "normal" weather day, but Saturday and Sunday saw less than 1,000 visitors.

However, president and general manager Peter Zotalis said that things can change fast.

"It's a little warm, but as soon as we get some fresh snow, it makes all the difference," Zotalis said. "If we get an inch or two tomorrow, and then it gets colder and we turn all the guns on, it's going to change just like that."

Welch Village is expecting things to get back to normal over the week. They have multiple New Year's Eve and New Year's Day events that are expected to draw big crowds.

Up in Bemidji, it's a totally different story.

Faye Lewis, one of the WCCO Weather Watchers, had 13 inches of snowfall in her backyard by 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

"It's very heavy, it sticks to everything, it's pretty. The trees are extremely weighted down. I'm hoping we don't have limbs that break," Lewis described.