Christmas in Montreal has been losing its white

Where is winter?

Throw open the window: There is nothing to indicatewinter is upon us. Nosnow, no face-numbing cold. Winter coats and boots are still waiting to come out of the closet.

Does this mean another green Christmas, like last year's? It's hard to say. But the trends are not encouraging.

"We're seeing this in most of Eastern Canada. The winter is missing in action," Dave Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, told CBC's Radio Noon Friday.

To wit: the average temperature this November and December was 3.8 C. The previous warmest was 2.1 C in 2001.

ElNiothe culprit

El Niois the main culprit, Phillips said.

The phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean is very intense this year, changing the weather patterns all over the world, and in Canada, it has a reputation for bringing milder winters.

Phillips says winter as we know it will definitely arrive eventually.

"There will be times you'll wish you were down south," he said.

While you may be beset by anagging worry about climate change, Phillips said the warmer temperatures havea silver lining.

On a mobile device? See the interactive chart here.