The Albert Lea Parks and Recreation Department on Tuesday decided to close the outdoor skating rinks for the rest of the season.

It’s hard to keep ice on the ground when the temperatures are above freezing.

“Given the temperatures forecasted for the rest of the week, we will probably lose the ice by the weekend and the long-range forecast does not lend itself to building and maintaining outdoor ice,” said Parks and Recreation Director Jay Hutchison.

The rinks opened about Jan. 20, said Jenny Davis, recreation program supervisor, after cold weather and the white stuff finally arrived after more than a month of a mostly brown winter.

She said the mild winter is enjoyable for some but for people who enjoy winter recreation such as skating, skiing and ice fishing it has not been good.

The hockey boards go up in autumn and come down once the snowpack has melted. Taking them down could happen earlier this year than normal, she said.

Albert Lea came 1 degree from tying its record high for Jan. 31. The high temperature on Tuesday was 45 degrees. The record is 46, from 1989.

On Monday, the air temperature did reach 46, but the record for Jan. 30 is 48, set in 1931.

The National Weather Service forecast for Albert Lea calls for a high today of 42, Thursday 42, Friday 39, Saturday 34, Sunday 35.

The Climate Prediction Center said above-normal temperatures are highly likely to hang around during February across much of the United States east of the Rockies. Alaska, however, will experience below-normal temperatures. That state and places in Canada have been setting snowfall records this winter, a season that last year was hitting places like Dallas but this year clearly opted to stay north.