Unseasonably warm weather a mixed blessing for Calgarians

Remarkably warm and dry Grass fires in December are not so typical for us in Calgary. That tells you just how warm it was out there on Tuesday.

While some may be thrilled with the unseasonably warm weather Calgary is seeing, others may be missing the snow.

Calgary's temperature climbed to a high in the mid-teens on Tuesday, an exclamation point on an already warm fall.

While Olympic Plaza's outdoor skating rink recently opened, many community ice rinks across Calgary are still grassy fields.

On Tuesday, one small rink in West Hillhurst had a few skate marks on it, but by mid-morning it was already starting to melt.

Though Calgarians couldn't find much quality ice outdoors, some were able to bring their golf clubs out of hibernation on Tuesday, as two of Calgary's city-owned courses – Shaganappi and Maple Ridge – opened for the day.

"It's unpredictable right now," said John Faber, golf lead for the City of Calgary.

"If we see double digits, is (golfing in) January out of the realm of possibility? Who knows! We'll watch that forecast like hawks."

The City of Calgary announced on Tuesday that the unseasonably warm fall weather helped crews fill nearly 5,000 potholes last month, a new record for November.

The warm weather also allowed giraffes at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo to go head outside on Tuesday.

The zoo says it has recorded its highest-ever November attendance numbers this year, something officials attribute to warm weather.