El Nino a factor in balmy Toronto winter, Environment Canada says

Winter officially begins late this eveningbut with a high of 8 C in Toronto today,it sure does not look and feel like it.

"It's tropical almost," said Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips on CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Monday.

Phillips says this November and December in Toronto have seen the least amount of snow on record.

Historically, the average yearly temperature is a high of 1 C and a low of -7 C.

"The front end of winter is just missing in action, it's just non-existent," he said.

The senior climatologist says winter is not completely cancelled, but simply postponed and will be shorter this season.

Phillips believes the El Niois the main cause of the warmweather, which he says has been around since March.

Theweather pattern isaphenomenon associated with extreme droughts, storms, floodsand is driven by warm surface water in theeastern Pacific Ocean.

• This year's El Nino will be the strongest in 18 years, WMO says
• El Nino this year could be a record-breaker

"No, this is not a polar vortex, it's more a pineapple express event."

"We think that the second half of winter will be not quite as balmy as the first half, but we think the character, the personality of this winter will clearly be warmer than normal."