Snowmobile clubs are warning riders to stay off most trails until Maine gets more snow.
Al Sweat, operations director at the Maine Snowmobile Association says early snowpack was mostly wiped out by a December rainstorm, leaving icy, hazardous conditions across most of the state.
"I'd tell you to be safe out there," Sweat said. "We already had one fatality; we lost a child up in the county, and that was a preventable accident and it never should have happened."
Once dependable Maine snowpack has become less abundant and predictable, and it's taken a toll on the state's snowmobiling industry, Sweat said.
Winter is Maine's fastest warming season as global temperatures rise because of greenhouse gas pollution from burning fossil fuels.
"I usually go 1,000 miles a year, sometimes more," Sweat said. "Last year I got 350. I know a lot of riders got less than that and it's very discouraging."
Poor conditions also hurt small businesses across rural Maine that rely on snowmobile traffic to make ends meet during the winter, Sweat added.
While some areas of Maine including the Rangeley and Moosehead regions have better conditions, Sweat said the entire state could use another foot of snow to make trails safe to ride.
