After a winter of extreme cold and snow, drive-ins and ice cream parlors are getting ready to open as their owners hope this week's relatively mild weather is here to stay.

Some are already serving.

Last weekend in Delmar, with snowbanks receding and customers still bundled up, Jim's Tastee Freez sold its first ice cream cones of the season.

In Glenmont, Twist Ice Cream Shoppe at the Jericho Drive-In was preparing for a mid-March opening.

"Weather permitting, I usually open on St. Patrick's Day," Lisa Chenette, co-owner of Twist, said Monday.

Over in Wynantskill, Jack's Drive In is hiring for the season, its 77th, according to manager Albert Deeb. Jack's will be back, with its burgers and hot dogs, sometime between March 20 and 24, depending on weather, Deeb said.

The opening date is "still up in the air because of the snow," he added.

In Scotia, Jumpin' Jack's Drive-In plans to open March 26, a posting on its Facebook page says. "In the meantime, we will all be hoping that mother nature turns up the heat!" it adds in a Feb. 20 posting when the temperature hovered near zero.

Guptill's Coney Express Ice Cream, on Route 9 in Latham, next to the roller rink of the same name, will open March 21. It hired 55 employees — five more than last year. It will offer several new flavors of ice cream, said Wes Guptill.

"We have lots of parking, and the patios are clear of snow," Guptill added.

In Troy's Lansingburgh section, Snow Man Ice Cream plans to open Friday. It's sporting a freshly refurbished sign. Snow Man staff started making ice cream last Wednesday, showing the vanilla flavor being prepared on its Facebook page. "We just finished up production today and now all that's left is getting the sign up and the ice-cream machines running," Snow Man owner John Murphy said.

In Colonie, Kurver Kreme on Central Avenue plans to reopen March 19, a day before spring begins, according to a posting on Facebook.

Some parlors and restaurants have already opened, including The Ice Cream Man Ltd. in Greenwich and Jim's Tastee Freez in Delmar.

The Ice Cream Man Ltd. opened Jan. 21 and released a "flavor update" on its Facebook page in February.