(ABC 6 News) – We went from 69°F just after 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon to 7°F just before 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, a drop of 62 degrees in 36 hours.

The dramatic change ties the record for the largest drop over that period of time in Rochester.

For communities by I-35 and in northern Iowa, most of which were in the low to mid-70s, that difference is even higher. This is also without factoring in the wind chill.

Lori Forstie works in public relations at Quarry Hill Nature Center. She enjoys nature a lot, but the up and down temperatures are not the most soothing feeling. “It’s strange. It’s a little unsettling.”

The lack of snowfall this season has made any snowfall we do get more of a surprise, thus more of a challenge than normal.

This is the case for Silver Lake Foods Assistant Manager Tom Viken. “It was a little treacherous for me, but I was going slow enough.”

Places like Silver Lake Foods take a bigger hit from the colder weather and snow. With the stores primarily customers being elderly residents, they’ve had enough brutally cold Minnesota winters to make other plans when the snow falls.

Viken explains in more detail. “With the projection of the snow and the extreme cold last night, it brought some people in, [the store] gets business and then in the morning once you have that extreme cold and the snow and ice, they don’t wanna go out.”

As for Quarry Hill Nature Center, the lack of snow up until this week has forced them to adjust what events they hold.

Although, they have found a way. Forstie explains how. “We certainly aren’t doing the winter sports that we would normally do: skiing and snowshoeing. But with the warm temperatures, more people are in the park than ever.”

Although, Quarry Hill is ready for whatever comes next the rest of this Winter, as explained by Forstie. “We’ll be out in any kind of weather, cold or warm, just helping people enjoy nature for what it is.”

Meanwhile, Viken is looking forward to an increase in sales as we warm up. “People will start doing the things such as grilling steaks and things of this nature. Meat sales will go up.”

And with weather conditions more favorable for outdoor activities going forward, both Quarry Hill and Silver Lake Foods should be in good shape for business heading into spring.