Welcome to the winter doldrums, the winter of our discontent for many fans of snow. Even if you are a person who absolutely hates Wisconsin winter weather, you must admit the lack of snow and abundance of brown grass makes for a bleak landscape.

The road salt has changed the asphalt to white. It's difficult to remember the color of my car under all of that salt and grime. What has happened to our winter? Where is the snow? And why have all the storms missed us to the south?

There are no easy answers to these questions. The quick answer always seems to be El Nino, the warming of the Pacific Ocean around the equator east of the International Dateline. Check out the latest El Nino information and sea-surface temperatures (SST) at the following Web site:

cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory

It may be a bit technical for some readers, but the message is clear: El Nino has weakened. It was a moderate El Nino at best, so the impact on the United States has been as expected. We tend to stay relatively dry around here as the split jet stream takes storms to our south. Midwest temperatures tend to be warmer-than-normal during a moderate to strong El Nino, but this one has kept us in the cold branch of the northern jet stream. The northern branch is the one that transports chilly air from central Canada into the Great Lakes region.

Northern Wisconsin has finally seen some snow lately so cross-country skiers and snowmobile enthusiasts can load up the car and travel to deep snow. The central Plains and the northeast seem to be getting our share of snow this winter.

And while it is frustrating for fans of winter to see southern Illinois and Indiana receive more snow than us, it is good news for the parched soil of the Plains and the east coast. The additional moisture from added snowfall is helping their ground moisture and reservoirs. A drought that has stretched on for several years is being diminished. However, the dry trend continues in the western U.S.

A recent article in the journal "Science" points to cold sea-surface temperatures (SST) in the eastern Pacific Ocean and warm SSTs in the western tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans as the cause of the widespread drought. (Only the recent El Nino has helped alleviate the drought to our south and east.) And the drought hasn't been a problem just in our country. Southern Europe and southwest Asia have been dry since 1998, too.

Scientists at the Climate Diagnostics Center in Boulder, Colorado used three different mathematical models of the ocean-atmosphere to simulate how global weather would react to various scenarios. They ran the models 50 times using slightly different starting conditions each time and then adding the actual sea-surface conditions. The results indicated a very strong link between warm ocean waters in the western equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans to global drought.

What has created such warmth in the western Pacific? Records indicate these are the warmest SSTs in that part of the world in the past 150 years. The scientists in this study point to global warming as being part of the reason for the warming oceans. Whether that warming is due to increased carbon dioxide pollution and the greenhouse effect or just a natural fluctuation in Earth's climate is up for debate. Either way, scientists warn that if the warming continues, then there is an "increased risk of synchronized drought at mid-latitudes in the future."

Another scientist at Atmospheric and Environmental Research Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts is studying drought in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. He sees a link to his study. In fact, many climatologists agree that the tropical oceans play a crucial role in precipitation patterns worldwide. The more we know about these links means we can predict and prepare for future problems related to drought.

Here in our part of the world, Lake Michigan has the lowest water level we have seen in the past 35 years. The water level has dropped 40 inches since 1997 and is currently 13 inches below average. Lack of precipitation in the Lake Michigan basin as well as a lack of lake ice has contributed to the loss of water.

Increased evaporation occurs whenever the lake remains relatively ice free during the winter months. During a typical winter, Lake Michigan can be expected to have 60 percent to 70 percent of its surface covered with ice. Our recent winters have given us much less.

Can ocean SSTs half a world away be the reason for our weird winter season? It should come as no surprise if the answer is yes. After all, this world of ours is getting smaller everyday. And the atmosphere keeps us all connected.