For Many, This Winter's A Warm Wonderland

Cherry blossoms are in bloom in New York and Washington. Roses are flowering and new grass is growing in usually snowy Connecticut, as crocuses push out of the ground in New Jersey. Ice fishing tournaments in Minnesota are being canceled for lack of ice. And golfers are hitting the links in Chicago and Ohio.

Much of the East Coast and Midwest (but not all – you'll need your hat and gloves in Kansas and Nebraska) are going through a remarkably warm winter, with temperatures running 10 and 20 degrees higher than normal in many places.

"I'm not complaining. I can take this," said Rudolph Williams, a doorman in New York City who normally wears a hat this time of year but stood outside in 50-degree weather with his shaved head uncovered. "The Earth is recalibrating itself: Last year, we had a cold winter, and it's balancing itself out now. In January, it feels like the middle of April."

At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York, literally thousands of cherry blossoms are in evidence, turtles who typically hibernate are still swimming in the pond, and spring-like temperatures have many visitors enjoying a stroll through the park.

WCBS-TV meteorologist John Bolaris attributes New York's unseasonable weather mainly to the weather phenomenon known as El Nino. "El Nino normally means milder temperatures for the east, and not as much snow," says Bolaris. "We've had a snowless December for the first time in over 100 years - one of the third warmest December on record... the first snowless stretch for winter in over 130 years."

A snowless winter is not, however, guaranteed.

In New Jersey, this winter so far is the warmest since records started being kept 111 years ago.

Maria Freitas said that not only are crocus bulbs blooming in her Rahway, N.J., backyard, but the asparagus is three inches high.

"They think it's spring. They're so confused," she said.

Meteorologists say the warm spell is due to a combination of factors: El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now under way in the Pacific Ocean, can lead to milder weather, particularly in the Northeast; and the jet stream, the high-altitude air current that works like a barricade to hold back warm Southern air, is running much farther north than usual over the East Coast.

The weather is prone to short-term fluctuations, and forecasters said the mild winter does not necessarily mean global warming is upon us. In fact, the Plains have been hit by back-to-back blizzards in the past two weeks.

"No cause for alarm. Enjoy it while you have it," said Mike Halpert, head of forecast operations at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center.

Whatever the explanation, Amanda Dickens was enjoying the weather Wednesday at Baltimore's Inner Harbor as she ate lunch outside with her husband and 3-year-old son. Temperatures there were expected to reach 60 degrees.

At the Marovitz Golf Course in Chicago near Lake Michigan, 30 people teed off between 9 a.m. and noon, when there are usually no golfers at all this time of year.

Leonard Berg, the course's superintendent for maintenance, gestured to the fairways with pride: "Normally this time of year there would be a brown singe to it. Look at that nice emerald green."

But the mild weather is also hurting some businesses and events.

In Minnesota, where a water skier in a wetsuit was recently seen on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, ice fishing tournaments have been canceled. The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships - scheduled for Jan. 19-21 in Minneapolis - have only a 50-50 chance of being held.

And organizers of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, scheduled to begin late this month, said the ice is not thick enough to harvest into 1,400 blocks for the ice maze. They may have to switch to plastic blocks.

"It would give the effect, but it's not exactly Minnesota winter," said Mary Huss, a spokeswoman for the event.

In Ohio, Dan Motz said sales for his firewood business in a Cincinnati suburb are down about 25 percent.

In Maryland, buds are appearing on apple and peach trees, raising the prospect of a poor spring crop if a sudden cold snap kills the blossoms. A gradual cooldown would minimize any damage.

At the Tuxedo Ski Center north of New York City, it's tough sledding with no snow. "I've been in this business for 18 years and have never seen anything like this," said resort worker John Blandi.

In New Jersey, the Mountain Creek ski resort in Vernon is struggling to open more trails. There haven't been many nights cold enough to make snow.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that the cold weather will get here soon," resort spokeswoman Shannon McSweeney said. "Either that, or sending trucks out to Colorado to steal some of their snow."