The unseasonably warm weather has been a help for the local Christmas tree industry — and those coming out to chop their own tree.
“It was busy yesterday, and it’s been busy today,” said Chuck Hafner. He owns a tree farm on Route 290, or Green Lakes Road, in Manlius.
The normal temperature today is 37 degrees with a high chance of precipitation, likely snow — a stark contrast from the blue skies and 61 degrees that blanketed central New York by 2 p.m. Saturday.
“What could be nicer?” Hafner said.
The Gunn family, of DeWitt, was at Hafner’s to cut their tree for the holiday season. Last year, they said, the Saturday after Thanksgiving was in the 40s, with snow and wind blowing. This year, they cut their tree without heavy coats, wearing red and green outfits, trying to get into the Christmas spirit.
“We’re going to try, even if the weather isn’t doing it,” Tammy Gunn said. “Even if we have to do a few added things.”
Gunn’s husband, Nathan, was wearing a Santa hat. Her shirt said “ho, ho, ho” and their children, Jonathan and Tanner, were matching — one in red, one in green.
“The weather is a good excuse to get out on a day like this and get outside in nature,” Hafner said.
The National Weather Service expects the temperatures to stay above freezing well into Wednesday, when there is a chance of snow showers. The highest temperature recorded on Nov. 26 was 67 degrees, in 1979. The weather is expected to return to the typical cold by next weekend, the second most busiest weekend for the tree industry, Hafner said.
