Warmer-than-usual Edmonton weather closes Ice Castles for the week

The warm weather is forcing Ice Castles Edmonton to temporarily close this week.

Ice Castles, the winter attraction in Fan Park that opened in freezing temperatures only two weeks ago, has closed for the week due to a significant warmup throughout Edmonton.

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“We have decided to temporarily close in hopes that we can reopen next week or when the weather changes back to colder temperatures,” build manager Anna Closser told CTV News Edmonton Sunday.

The closure began Saaturday and will last through Friday. Guests with tickets for those dates are eligible for a refund or an exchange for a future visit.

A social media post from the organizers said the closure begins Saturday and will last through Friday. Guests with tickets for those dates are eligible for a refund or an exchange for a future visit.

“Unfortunately, right now, it’s not a great time to come into the ice castle because the floors are slick and things like that,” explained Closser. “It’s harder for us to maintain with these warmer temperatures.

Weather in the city has been capricious, ranging from -30 C mid-December to highs of 4 C this weekend.

The upcoming week’s forecast is calling for highs of 6 C.

Ahead of the thaw, Closser said her team has been running water on the castle so it gets a solid coat of ice. Once the weather gets a bit cooler, they’ll run another round of water, but it might take them a few days from then until they can open.

“It takes a lot of work to get it back to what it looked like before, and to get it to a place where we can let people in,” said Closser.

Ice Castles anticipates its final day of the season to be around Feb. 20, but it’s all dependent on Mother Nature.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Gates Guarin