It’s normal for kids to complain when a warm winter fails to provide enough snow.

It’s unusual, however, for adults to join in.

With no days off for a storm and little use for a fort, most adults in Maine have little love for snow. It’s cold, makes driving dangerous and needs to be shoveled.

And yet, the Lakes Region area is abuzz with adults who don’t think this winter has been cold enough.

“I want an old-fashioned Maine Winter,” said Cathy Strout who works at Aubuchon Hardware in Raymond.

“My grandmother always said a good ol’ fashion Maine Winter clears the air of germs,” Strout said.

Outside the store are rows and rows of unsold bags of rock salt and 10 pound-jugs of ice melting solution.

“It’s hard to sell sand, snow shovels and ice picks when its 55 degrees out,” said Matt Carle, Aubuchon’s assistant manager. Carle said the store hasn’t sold a single snowblower this year.

“It’s hot as a firecracker outside,” he said.

Retail stores reported lower sales of winter clothing before Christmas because of the warm spell.

“It’s obviously not typical,” said Skip Sendzik, retired earth-space science teacher who taught at Gorham High School for 37 years.

“We live in an area where change is common,” said Sendzik, who lives in Gorham and holds a master’s degree in education. “The average is what’s important.”

Sendzik said he believes this winter “still has a few surprises left.”

“I lived through the blizzards in the 50s, so nothing really surprises me anymore,” he said.

“The lack of snow has an impact on everyone in the state,” said David Cummings, owner of Performance Plus in Naples that sells Arctic Cat snowmobiles.

“I took a ride up to Greenville and most of the hotels say ‘closed until snow,'” he said.

Cummings said some businesses depend on winter tourism, which includes skiers, snowmobilers and snowboarders.

However, the unusual warm weather has been good for some businesses.

Gerry Milano, who owns Moto Milano motorcycle store in Windham, said sales have been up because the lack of icy roads have kept a lot of bikes on the road.

Town governments don’t seem to mind it either.

“If it continues as it is, it’s going to be great for the budget,” said Windham Public Works Director Douglas Fortier, who’s in charge of cleaning up after snowstorms.

“I do a report after every storm, and they can run anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000,” said Fortier.

Fortier said his town sprays sand, salt and liquid calcium chloride on winter roads. The calcium chloride attracts moisture and helps the salt work faster, Fortier said.

Wear and tear on town vehicles and overtime drive up the costs of cleaning up after a storm, said Nathan White, Raymond’s director of public works. Fuel and sanding materials also add to these costs.

The cost of a storm vary with size and distribution of population. White said an average storm will cost his town about $1,000.

“We’re not big fans of winter,” White said.