Even the most casual weather forecasters among us knew this was almost certainly coming — the announcement that the UP200, Midnight Run and Jack Pine 30 scheduled for Feb. 16-18 had been canceled for a second consecutive year.

UP200 president Darlene Walch issued this prepared statement: “Sled dog races across the Midwest have been canceled this winter due to lack of snow and warm temperatures. That being the case, we were even more determined to hold our races for mushers and the community, but the current conditions have made the choice for us. Safety is our top priority and given the lack of snow and the warm temperatures, we cannot offer a safe race. We will make the best of a difficult situation however.”

We believe this was absolutely the correct call, and making it early as opposed to right before the races is better for everyone, especially for the dozens of mushers and others, many of whom travel great distances to get here.

And the weekend will still include a great many fun activities, including the Festival of the Sled Dog Powered by NMU, which will take place on Feb. 16 in downtown Marquette.

Additional details on UP200 events will be made available on social media and in the local media in the coming days. The starting-line arch will be up, the streets will be filled with snow for sledding, and there will be sled dog demos, meaning: there will be sled dogs. There will also be live music and other activities.

So we’ll wait another year and hope the snow and ice gods smile down upon the Upper Peninsula in February 2025.