"I think if we judge this winter by the draw on the country's energy stocks, we'll find that this winter is certainly warmer than last winter," he said.

Temperatures in the Northeastern United States, home to the world's largest heating oil market, were 7 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in October and so far this month are 3.6 degrees above normal, Bastardi said.

However, AccuWeather expects temperatures in the Northeast to fall below normal as soon as Thursday, with colder-than-normal temperatures persisting through mid-December.

Temperatures will be lower than normal in the Pacific Northwest, and there will be less precipitation than normal in the drought-hit Southeast this winter, Bastardi projected.

Government and private weather forecasters have been in close agreement this year when predicting a warm winter. The warmth will provide some relief to consumers facing record prices for heating oil after crude oil surged to over US$98 a barrel earlier this month.

Forecasters have based their predictions on the persistence of the "La Nina" weather anomaly -- a cooling of water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. La Nina likely means there will be less rain than usual in the drought-stricken southeastern United States for the foreseeable future, Bastardi said.

"Unless hurricanes come to the Southeast, precipitation will remain below normal," said Bastardi, adding that a long-term warming cycle in the Atlantic Ocean means the Southeast would face stubborn drought for years to come.

Bastardi said he still expects a more active than normal hurricane season for 2008 due to that long-term warming phenomenon, and his early research suggested the 2008 storms would make landfall further to the east than those of the 2007 hurricane season.