My sense is it is going to be much more of a winter this year. It will start earlier, go later and be tougher in between. It could still be warmer than normal; there could be less snow that normal. But I am comparing it to last year, which is the year we cancelled winter. It will be a more traditional kind of winter. Our models are all over the place. There is an El Nino out there, which generally means a mild winter. But it is a weak El Nino. It is just holding on.

We are looking at November, December and January being a little milder that normal in the East, but nowhere near as mild as last year. And we are calling for near-normal conditions in the West. There will be a good amount of snowfall across Canada, so it will be great for skiers and snowboarders. But those people who don't like winter, they had their time last year.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/yahoo-exclusive-climatologist-dave-phillips-calls-sandy-bit-161101391.html