Adam Thorburn, 3, tries to sweep with a big broom while his brother Justin, 4, cleans a drain at Lake of the Woods Car Wash yesterday afternoon. The boys went with their mother Jill, who owns the business with her husband, to help tidy up. 'Winter is our busiest season,' she says. rls

Harold and Elizabeth Ames of King George enjoy yesterday's warm weather and fly their sport kites in Spotsylvania's Loriella Park, which will host a sport-kiting show in March sponsored by Wings Over Washington and the Richmond Air Force. mwm

Mild temperatures lower heating bills, change sales patterns, boost car washing, bog down farmers

By NIKI LARSON
and STEPHANIE YOUNG

Date published: 1/13/2005

This T-shirt weather pays off for some, but won't last long

It's 60 degrees and Fredericksburg-area residents are playing tennis at Kenmore Park, drinking coffee outside Hyperion, and strolling along the Rappahannock River in T-shirts and shorts.

This is not your typical January day.

Yesterday, the high temperature was 65 degrees and today the highs should be in the 70s.

This time of year, George Ritchie is usually selling sleds and snow shovels at Earl's Hardware in southern Stafford.

"What happens in this business is that people tend to do projects according to the weather, so we haven't sold a whole lot of snow shovels or salt," he said. "But we've still got some people putting down mulch, and fertilizer. People like to work on their homes and yards, and since the weather is so nice, they keep doing it."

The balmy weather has also been good for Carter Cycle, a custom motorcycle shop on Princess Anne Street.

Sarah Perry, an employee at the shop, said she has noticed more people out on their motorcycles then usual, and more people wanting to buy bikes.

"It does seem like spring is coming sooner so I think people are hoping that it'll get warm, so they want to hurry up and get their bikes done," Perry said.

Jerry Stenger, research coordinator at the state climatology department at the University of Virginia, said a reversal of weather patterns brought harsh weather to the normally milder West Coast and milder weather to the East Coast.

"So, for a few days, we got a glimpse of what our counterparts on the West Coast get," Stenger said.

Matt Faulconer, spokesman for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, says this January has been 17 degrees warmer than last year.

"That means heat hasn't run nearly as much as it would normally run," he said. "On the utility side, this is good for customers."

Faulconer also said that last January, the average temperature was 3 degrees colder than normal, so bills last year were higher than this year.

Bob Innes, director of communications and community relations at Columbia Gas, said the unseasonably warm weather has affected his company, too.

Date published: 1/13/2005