WATERVILLE — There wasn’t much, if any, snow on the ground through much of central Maine this weekend. Relatively warm temperatures and slight rain had swept through the area in the week prior.

But at the end of a mile long dirt path tucked beneath Interstate 95, the hills and slopes of the Quarry Road Trails are blanketed with about 2 feet of bright white man-made snow.

Maine has had an unpredictable winter so far. The first snow of the year came unseasonably late in late November, and despite the brief threat of flash flooding and a few inches of snow in December, temperatures around the state have remained relatively high.

“We got a little snow around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then we had our annual rain that washed it all away,” said Jerry Combs, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.

Snowfall totals in southern and western Maine are “well below normal” this season, Combs said, and have decreased across the state in recent years. Climate models forecast this winter will likely come with above-average temperatures and more precipitation than normal for most of Maine, but less snowfall overall.

“In recent years, snowfall has been decreasing from November to March, but we also haven’t gotten halfway through the winter yet,” Combs said. “We’ve definitely gone lower on the snow overall for the last several years. It’s just kind of on a downward trend.”

While warming winters are leaving many recreation businesses who rely on cold and snow without a vital lifeline, others are turning to man-made snow: like Quarry Road.

A fan gun snowmaking machine is seen Saturday at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“We’ve become a mecca of sorts because nowhere else has snow, quite literally,” said Victor Esposito Jr., Quarry Road’s lead ski coach. “People come from all over, 20, 30, 40 miles, because we’re not a two-hour drive like most of the resorts and we don’t charge anywhere near as much: And we actually have snow.”

Maine’s winters are becoming warmer and less predictable, recent data shows. Climate change is transforming winter into the fastest warming season in the U.S. as Maine and most of New England experiences hotter temperatures both on land and sea.

The rest of the winter is predicted to be warmer than usual, Combs said, though there are equal chances of receiving more or less precipitation than normal. But with higher temperatures statewide, less of that precipitation is expected to be snow.

“There could still be warmer periods and colder periods, but for January, February and March, the outlook is to be above normal,” Combs said.

Esposito, 78, has overseen Quarry Road’s downhill skiing trails since 2020. While smaller slopes and sometimes large resorts increasingly remain without snow during peak ski season, Quarry Road maintains a layer of fresh artificial snow all winter long each year.

Victor Esposito Jr., Quarry Road Trail’s lead ski coach, is seen Saturday at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Maine’s winter recreation “destination points” — places across the state with hotels, restaurants, gas stations and natural beauty — can be put out of business by a bad winter, said Mark Latti, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s communications director. It’s something that’s happening with an increasing frequency, he said.

“It happens from Limerick to Madawaska and from Rangeley to Eastport,” Latti said. “This is big money.”

Without consistent snowfall and cold temperatures, trails and ski slopes are hard to maintain, and businesses that depend on winter tourism have struggled to keep up, especially in the last five years.

At the same time, Esposito said Quarry Road has thrived. He began creating artificial snow for the trails in 2020 and offering seasonal passes at discounted rates through partnerships with local businesses — effectively filling an increasing gap in winter recreation fueled by warming weather each year.

More people are buying ski passes at Quarry Road each season, and Esposito said he plans to expand its operations next year to accommodate rising demand.

“We’re going to bring the downhill slope to the top of this hill, and hopefully build a T-bar (ski lift) in the next few years,” Esposito said. “More people are coming here, we’ve got the room for it.”

About a dozen skiers were gliding through Quarry Road’s cross country trails by noontime Saturday while dozens of cross country skiers from across the state competed in a competition on the nearby Nordic skiing trails. The Bethel Relays were moved to Quarry Road due to a lack of snow in southern and western Maine.

Kolby Lajoie, 10, of Belgrade makes a run down the Alpine ski hill Saturday at Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Heather Lajoie and her son Kolby, a 10-year-old student at Belgrade Central School, bought passes for Quarry Road’s downhill slope. Kolby was just finishing his skiing lesson that day, and Heather said she planned to sign up for lessons of her own.

Neither would have had the opportunity to try skiing if not for Quarry Road, Heather Lajoie said, in large part due to the increasing lack of snow through each subsequent winter.

“I mean, it just doesn’t snow like it used to,” she said. “It’s really nice having this here because otherwise we’d have literally nowhere nearby to ski.”