where i am, in windsor, you never see freezing overnight lows in february and rarely see them beyond the first week of january. we get a week, at most, of what canadians would call winter, right during the last week of december.
we skipped it last year and it's looking like we're going to skip it this year, too.
the shift in energy northwards means that if you're north of sudbury, or even north of barrie, i'd get a shovel, but you probably already have one.
i'm also putting down a warning for ottawa: you may not get to skate again at all this year, and this spring is going to be brutal. get your sandbags down now.