MILWAUKEE — This season, we've barely had any big snowstorms. While some individuals may be glad that they aren't dealing with the snow as often, some people who rely on Wisconsin winters are hurting.
"This is way unusual," said Paul Terry, owner of Paul Terry Services Lawn Care and Landscaping.
For the 10 years that Terry has been in the snow removal business, he says he's never dealt with a winter like this one.
Since the winter season began, Southeast Wisconsin has seen a total of about 7 1/2 inches of snow. Normally at this point, the region would be seeing nearly three times as much.
"It is kinda absurd that we haven't had as much snow as we've had," said Dan Neary owner of RockStar Landscaping.
For these companies, the lack of snow is causing a lot of financial difficulties.
"We're not making the money that we did last year," said Terry.
Terry says normally this time of year, his phones are ringing off the hook with customers requesting his services. But without as much snowfall, he doesn't have much to offer.
"My guys who work year-round with us, they're on unemployment right now. So at least they had some stream of income coming in," said Terry.
Meanwhile, Neary has his fingers crossed that Wisconsin will make up for its lack of snow next month.
"Most of our business last year did fall in February, so we are kind of banking on at least we might get some snow still in February," said Neary.
But for the time being, he's keeping his staff occupied with other services this season until spring arrives.
"You still have to have other alternatives like the tree removal, you have to keep the guys busy obviously, but you can't just 100% rely on snow," said Neary.
