OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Omaha's unusually mild winter is creating financial hardships for local snow removal contractors who depend on winter weather to sustain their businesses through the cold months.
- With only 6.5 inches of snow recorded so far this season, Omaha is nearly 11 inches below average for this time of year.
- Ryan Emmel, owner of Tiger Stripe Lawn Care, said 2026 has been particularly challenging for his business.
- Last year, we spoke to Cody Kanger who traveled to Kansas for work, but despite the revenue it generated, Kanger Lawns decided against traveling anywhere this winter due to the risks involved.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Omaha's unusually mild winter is creating financial hardships for local snow removal contractors who depend on winter weather to sustain their businesses through the cold months.
With only 6.5 inches of snow recorded so far this season, Omaha is nearly 11 inches below average, according to the KMTV weather team. The lack of precipitation has left contractors with expensive equipment sitting idle and bills continuing to pile up.
Cody Kanger, owner of Kanger Lawns, prepared for what he expected to be a busy winter with four tractors, two plows and plenty of equipment at the ready.
"We honestly thought it was going to be a really good start to the season because the one subset of snow we've had was at the end of November," Kanger said.
Since then, snow services have been minimal, forcing contractors to seek alternative revenue sources during their typically busiest season.
Ryan Emmel, owner of Tiger Stripe Lawn Care, said 2026 has been particularly challenging for his business.
"The bills keep coming. Our rent here, our insurance payments, all that stuff still comes due. So whether it snows or not, they don't care," Emmel said.
Some contractors are being offered opportunities to travel out of state for storm chasing work. Emmel said his company was recently offered a job in Kentucky after snowfall there, but they declined.
"They make great offers to us, a lot of money for us to go storm chasing. Is it worth it? I, I don't know. It remains to be seen," Emmel said.
Last year, Kanger traveled to Kansas for similar work, but despite the revenue it generated, Kanger Lawns decided against traveling anywhere this winter due to the risks involved.
"What happens if we break down or if we have issues? It's just high risk for going down there," Kanger said.
Both businesses are now relying heavily on lawn cleanup services to survive the winter months.
"Every year we've had more and more luck pulling those type of services deeper into the winter and stuff, which has worked out really well and again we have to just for survival," Kanger said.
While the downtime has allowed contractors to catch up on equipment maintenance that typically gets delayed during busy summer months, both business owners said they would gladly trade the quiet period for profitable snowfall.
"It's given me an opportunity to work on a lot of other equipment, you know, during the summer months we break a lot of stuff. A lot of stuff just sits around, waits for winter. So we, we did get a lot of that done, which has been nice, but I would, I would trade it for the snow," Emmel said.
