Olympics Weather: Warmest ever

One of my favorite winter activities kicks into high gear this weekend, and weather will play a huge role. This will likely be the warmest Winter Olympic Games ever.

As the Games ramp up, the big story continues to be the weather conditions at some of the Olympic sites near Vancouver. Warm temperatures and rain have kept organizers scrambling, trucking in snow in an effort to keep some of the venues viable.

Meterologists are scrambling to give frequent updates on the rapidly changing weather conditons for opening weekend.

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Vancouver has just recorded the warmest January on record. Temperatures averaged 44.8 degrees almsot 7 degrees warmer than the average of 37.9 degrees. The high in Vancouver pushed 50 degrees again Friday. Rain (and some heavy wet snow) is falling at the ski venues in the mountains as the Games open this weekend.

Those who know me well know my two main passions in life are weather and hockey. And Olympic ice hockey is probably the coolest thing in the world. Of course weather is not a factor in indoor ice hockey, but another change has made a huge impact.

The best thing about Olympic hockey is they usually play on the bigger Olympic sized (100x200ft) ice sheets. But not this year. They'll be playing on the smaller NHL size rinks. This is a crime in my opinion, these guys are so big and so fast that there's just no room to operate out there. It completely changes the game from the beautiful, free flowing open ice style of hockey we usually see in the Olympics. But I digress...

It looks to me like other than a couple of chances for snow, another ridge of unseasonably warm high pressure is headed for Vancouver next week. Weather will continue to be a story in these Olympic Games. Here are some good places to keep tabs on weather conditions at the Olympic sites around Vancouver.

USA-USA-USA......

-Environment Canada Olympic weather page

-Vancouver forecast

-Cypress Mountain forecast

-Whistler Forecast

-Rain disrupts training Friday

PH