Fascinating thing ... here (Northeast Nohio), last year was one of the coldest on record.

Exceedingly mild autumn (last year), but the first day of winter(2012-2013 winter, December 21, 2012), the temps dropped over forty degrees (Fahrenheit) and we stayed cooooo---old until well into early spring.

I have properties in Iowa, and speaking with our tenants (farmers that I've known since they were born) they echoed the same report(s).

So, unless Iowa and Northeast Nohio are the only two areas of the nation ... dead wrong on the two mild ones, back-to-back.