CHICAGO, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Travel companies say bookings to Florida and other warm weather destinations are down because of mild winter weather in the U.S. Midwest, East and Canada.
Temperatures have flirted with 50 degrees in Chicago nearly every day since Christmas, prompting golfers to skip work to hit the links and green daffodil tips are peeking from the normally frozen ground.
However, forecasters warn the January thaw -- partly the result of an El Nino warming Pacific Ocean waters -- does not portend an early spring.
"The weather is better than in October," a golfer teeing off at the Richmond Hill Golf Club in Ontario, Canada, told the Toronto Sun. Golfers were lined up as they waited for the morning frost to melt on the course.
While gardeners are worried about losing early-blooming bulbs, owners of ski-related businesses say the balmy weather is making for one of the worst winter sports seasons in recent memory.
