The host of the 2010 Winter Olympics is anything but wintry these days, and weather wags are out in force.

Welcome to the 2010 Spring Olympics. Is this what they mean by a "green" Olympics? Mild enough for you? A local columnist suggested the Games' official drink should be The Slushie. And so on.

The Games' recent weather worries have attracted international media attention, as the global spotlight begins to shift Vancouver's way with the opening ceremonies a mere 17 days away.

Just don't blame the weatherman, says VANOC's chief meteorologist Chris Doyle. He's heard all the jokes, and he's not amused.

"The weather is entirely out of my hands. It's a higher power thing."

Still, Mr. Doyle is the guy on the hot seat, or rather the mild, snowless seat, with balmy temperatures continuing to hold sway in Vancouver and, more importantly, on nearby Cypress Mountain, site of a host of Olympic snowboarding and freestyle skiing events.

Despite some fresh snow on the weekend, predicted with unerring accuracy by Mr. Doyle, the mountain remains bereft of enough white stuff where it's needed, forcing feverish efforts by VANOC crews to get the several courses ready by Games-time.

Anxiety about the weather has been on VANOC charts from the beginning.

With a hefty $9-million price tag, state-of-the-art forecasting equipment was installed at every outdoor venue in 2005, enabling meteorologists to pinpoint data so precisely they can predict weather patterns for each of the six specific Olympic sites.

"We've got our grids down to, like 100 metres," said Mr. Doyle. "So for every 100 metres in space and on the surface, we can prepare a forecast. That's an Olympic first. It's never been done before. We've raised the bar."

But even the best equipment and forecasting teams can't tell you today what the weather will be like when the Games begin, leaving the entire multi-billion-dollar exercise almost disturbingly open to the whims of last-minute disturbances.

"There's not a meteorological operation in the world that can give you an accurate forecast of the actual weather on any day so far," said Mr. Doyle, who will return to his job with Environment Canada once the Paralympics end in march.

"It's beyond the state of our art."

Forecasts, he explained, are reliable only for five to seven days out.

What can Mr. Doyle and his weather team offer with certainty? Not much.

"This is an El Nino year, so the general pattern is slightly warmer than average," he said. "But precipitation could go either way. That's kind of our ballpark expectation."

Snow in Vancouver during the Games? Unlikely. On average, snow falls only twice during the month of February.

For those crossing their fingers to keep away the rain, there's some hope. "Clear blue skies are more likely in mid-February than any other time during the winter," Mr. Doyle said.

Meanwhile, the fight for Cypress Mountain goes on.

Helicopters were busy all weekend transporting straw and equipment to assist the course-menders. "It kind of sounded like Beirut," according to one observer.

"We have a highly-experienced and capable team up there that is working around the clock to preserve and protect the snow, and we are confident the work being done will ensure enough snow on the mountain to deliver an exceptional field of play," said VANOC spokeswoman Mary Fraser.

"While we welcome the snow that fell on the weekend, it doesn't change our plan."

And there was more good news from the slopes early yesterday afternoon.

"It's actually snowing hard right now," said Kent Rideout of the privately owned Cypress ski resort. "To see that snowing coming down, it looks good."

As for Mr. Doyle, he said VANOC doesn't blame him a bit for their weather headaches.

"They are very gracious. They don't take it out on me, at all. They just deal with it."