As the weather fluctuates throughout the spring and summer, so does the business at local ice cream shops.
Several customers made their way to the counter at Giff’s Ice Cream Shoppe, 1621 Main St., Blakely, on Thursday afternoon as the temperature soared into the high 80s — a common occurrence in recent weeks. The high temperature at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp. reached at least 85 degrees 13 times during a 20-day stretch from June 19 to Tuesday, according to data from the National Weather Service.
Kyle Gifford, owner of Giff’s Ice Cream Shoppe, noted droves of customers made their way to the business when the temperature reached the 90s for four consecutive days — 92, 95, 95, 93 — from June 22 to June 25.
“The best sight is when we see the patio full of people and families enjoying the weather and watching the cars go by,” Gifford said. “We get a lot of baseball and flag football teams and it’s nice to see them all congregating. When we get nice weather, it’s really nice to see everybody outside.”
Bradley Strazdus, manager of the Frozen Cow in Dallas, Luzerne County, also witnessed a “good rush” of people to the business at 2285 Memorial Highway amid last month’s heat wave.
Strazdus added the seemingly unending humidity gripping the region leads to unusual peak times for sales.
“It makes it busier earlier in the day before dinnertime,” he said. “Usually the big rush is after dinnertime — people want their sweet treat after dinner, but with the humidity at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., it really makes things busier.”
Gifford also notices customers popping in, at various times, for a quick reprieve from the muggy atmosphere.
“You see a wide range of people trying to cool off,” he said. “We get people that are just stopping after work but also families on these really hot days.”
While Brian Tentinger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York, said temperatures topping out in the mid-90s in mid-to-late June isn’t unprecedented, it’s a bit of an anomaly in Northeast Pennsylvania.
“We did see that heat late last month kind of early in the season,” he said. “It was somewhat atypical — we usually don’t get our hottest temperatures into the 90s until July or August.”
Additionally, Tentinger noted higher humidity also contributes to more uncomfortable days and nights.
“It’s not atypical for this time of year, it just feels like it’s a little bit more humid than usual,” he said. “When the flow pattern comes from the south and southwest, that higher-moisture-content air can push up into our area and increase the humidity.”
The recent heat and humidity followed above-average rainfall in May, which created challenges for area ice cream shops. More than 7.5 inches of precipitation was measured at the airport throughout the month — 4.32 inches above normal, according to the NWS.
“A little bit of rain can really have an effect on some things, especially at certain times,” Strazdus said. “If it rains in the early afternoon, it will hold people off and make the busier times ever busier once it clears up.”
The wet weather also put a damper on sales at Giff’s.
“People don’t want to stand outside or sit outside in the rain,” Gifford said.
Giff’s remains open year-round but Gifford stressed the summer months are the most profitable.
“We still get people in the winter, but summer is definitely the main time for ice cream, so we try to take advantage of the weather when we get it,” he said.
The forecast should remain favorable for ice cream shops — at least in the near future — Tentinger said.
“We’re into a hot month now,” he said Thursday. “There is a good chance for above-average temperatures to continue for the next six to 10 days. It looks like we can hang on to the heat for a little bit longer.”
Ice cream sandwiches for sale at Giff’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Blakely on Thursday. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
Bianca Gifford of Old Forge serves customers vanilla ice cream with strawberries at Giff’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Blakely on Thursday. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
Quarts of ice cream for sale at Giff’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Blakely on Thursday. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)