Abundance of rain dampens some outdoor recreation businesses, boosts others
John F. Brothers|Herald-Standard
The rainy weather does not deter Bob Leftwich of Warrenton, Virginia, as he travels the Yough River Trail Friday, where it passes through Third Street in Connellsville.
As a steady drizzling rain falls Friday, Pastor Doug S. Seletzky (at left) leads a group of 15 cyclists from the Community of Hope Lutheran Church of Brecksville, Ohio, put a damper on their trip from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland Friday.
Gary Stout, owner of Bikes Unlimited in Connellsville, explains how weather conditions have an effect on outdoor recreation businesses.
Eight of the first nine days of July saw rain in the region according to the National Weather Service. Following on the heels of 21 rainy days in June, many outdoor recreation businesses are hoping for drier days ahead.
“When it rains, and you have an outdoor recreation business, you’re affected,” said Gary Stout, one of the owners of Bikes Unlimited in Connellsville. “It’s like going to the beach. When it rains, nothing is happening.”
Benner’s Meadow Run Camping and Cabins has seen some campers move their reservations to dates later in the summer in hopes of dryer weather, but others have forged ahead with their vacation plans.
“Nobody wants to tent camp in the rain, but when you have tent reservations, you make the best of it, which our people do,” said Sarah DeLorenzo, the office manager at the campground.
While there have been few lengthy periods of rain, there have been a number of heavy showers according to Tyler Wixtrom, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Wixtrom said Morgantown is the nearest official weather station to Fayette County, though there are a number of unofficial observers around the county.
The official records show above average rainfall over the past five weeks, with Morgantown measuring 8.99 inches of precipitation since June 1, 3.35 inches above normal, Wixtrom said.
“There’s only been one day with over one inch of rain. There’s not been a lot of heavy rain. It’s either rained hard for a short amount of time, or it’s been light,” Wixtrom said.
Recreation programs in Greene County have been hit hard by the unusual summer weather according to Jake Blaker, the county’s director of recreation.
“We’re probably running between 40 percent and 50 percent off for the summer,” Blaker said. “From the threat of rain, to rain, to thunder and lightning, we’re down in our day camp program, we’re down in pool attendance and we’ve had to reschedule two of our flashlight drag races,” Blaker said.
It’s not just rain Blaker has had to worry about.
“We had to throw the emergency action plan into effect because of a tornado warning. We’ve never had to do that before,” Blaker said.
Golf courses are also being affected by the weather, according to Joe Gudac, owner of the Springdale Golf Club in South Union Township.
“Even when it isn’t raining, it’s hard to play the courses because they’re so wet,” Gudac said.
“Golf is fighting a losing battle right now. There’s been a decline in the game of golf itself. Combined with the rain, it’s not good for business.”
Still, all of the charity outings scheduled at Springdale so far this year have been held as scheduled, Gudac said, and most of the leagues are showing up to play.
“Last year we had 57 days we closed for rain April 1-October 31. This year we’ve had down days, but as far as totally lost days only two or three so far,” Gudac said.
Gudac said he’s also encountered additional expenses maintaining the greens because of the increased rainfall can lead to diseases for the grass, requiring extra chemicals to combat them.
Although whitewater rafting participants are used to getting wet, Eric Martin of Wilderness Voyageurs Outfitters said rentals are down this year, in part because of the weather forecasts.
“Granted, it’s been wet, but you can get out in a little bit of rain. Basically, there’s going to be a thunderstorm in the forecast every day. People are ruled by the icons on their phones. Partly cloudy doesn’t mean it’s going to rain,” Martin said. “Reservations are down 20 to 30 percent and walk in traffic? It’s nonexistent.”
Martin has run the family-owned business for the past 23 years, renting bicycles, rafts, kayaks and canoes, said even without extensive periods of rainy weather, outdoor recreation has been declining in recent years.
“The couch is winning,” Martin said.
Julie Donovan of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau said area hotels are still reportedly doing well and some businesses may actually be benefiting.
“People have made their reservations and haven’t cancelled. If you’ve made up your mind to go somewhere and made your reservations, you’re not going to cancel because it’s raining,” Donovan said. “Laurel Caverns is a great location for rainy weather.”
Donovan said area museums and indoor tourist sites such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater may pick up some of the vacationers who cancelled outdoor plans.
“Can you imagine what the water rushing under Fallingwater and the water over the falls (at Ohiopyle) looks like after rain? It would be phenomenal right now,” Donovan said. “There’s always the other side that benefits from rainy weather.”