Where's Winter? - Thank You El Nino

The credit belongs to the El Nino weather system in the tropical Pacific, though skiers and others awaiting white wonderland scenes might call it a culprit. El Nino conditions create higher-than-normal ocean temperatures and affect the flow of the jet stream, sweeping more southerly air across the United States to the Northeast. Instead of receiving Canadian and arctic blasts from across the Great Lakes, the region has been more influenced by drier and warmer Southwest and Gulf Coast conditions.

The last time the region had seen this little snow by winter solstice was in 2001, when there had been no measurable snow by this time, although 5 inches fell by the end of December. In 1998, 0.8 inches had fallen by Dec. 21, and another inch came by year's end. The only November-December without any accumulation was in 1941, according to records that go back 123 years.