Heating bills will rise 20 percent for heating oil customers, 15 percent for natural gas customers, 13 percent for propane customers and 5 percent for electricity customers, the Energy Department said Wednesday. NEW YORK — Americans will pay more to heat their homes this winter as they feel something they didn't feel much of last year: cold. Fuel prices will be relatively stable, but customers will have to use more energy to keep warm than they did a year ago,...

The Weather Company has released its winter forecast of temperatures for December through February, and it's looking more and more likely to be a chilly winter for parts of the North. "After an extended spell of above-normal temperatures across much of the U.S. during the past 18 months, the last few months have been characterized by below-normal temperatures across much of the eastern U.S., as a weak El Nino event has tried to emerge," said Dr. Todd Crawford, Chief Meteorologist...

Wintry weather was spotted in parts of the Northeast on Saturday -- the first snow of the season for some areas. Multiple states saw snow, but Pennsylvania and New York were among the most active on social media when accumulation began. Here are some images and tweets from the areas that received a pristine layer of late-November snow. ...

Pennsylvania Snow Early Tuesday afternoon, Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel stood in a snow-covered yard in Reading, Pa., delivering positive news. "The really nice thing about this snowfall across the Northeast and New England today is, basically, it's not sticking to the roadways in most areas," he said. While the wet snow left roads slick and slushy in areas seeing the heaviest accumulations, cars and buses were able to navigate with very little trouble during the workday. This snow event,...

A 1984 file photo of Mount Shasta in northern California. (USGS/Lyn Topinka) If anyone lived on the summit of California's Mount Shasta, they'd need a mighty big shovel to dig out of the snowstorm that will bury the mountain in astronomical amounts of snow through the weekend -- amounts that could flirt with world records. The Thursday morning National Weather Service summit forecast for Shasta predicted an incredible 33 to 39 inches of snow -- just for Thursday alone. (By...

A winter storm will produce significant snow in the northern Plains, Upper Midwest and Rockies through the weekend. Let's start with a breakdown of the snow forecast and then follow up with a look at the bone-chilling temperatures. Weekend Snow Forecast Midwest Radar A dip in the jet stream, or trough, has dug south into the northern Plains this weekend. (MAP: Sunday's jet stream pattern) With cold air in place,lift in the atmosphere provided by disturbances embedded in the trough...

Winter Storm Caesar will continue to produce areas of snow, heavy in spots, in the Upper Midwest through Sunday night. Let's start with a breakdown of the snow forecast and then follow up with a look at the bone-chilling temperatures. Snow Forecast Midwest Radar A dip in the jet stream, or trough, has dug south into the northern Plains this weekend. (MAP: Sunday's jet stream pattern) With cold air in place,lift in the atmosphere provided by disturbances embedded in the...

LaPorte, Ind. A young girl lets loose with a snowball while playing with other children as they enjoy the season's first snow on Dec. 11 in LaPorte, Ind. (AP Photo/The LaPorte Herald-Argus, Bob Wellinski) ...

Where's Winter? Where's winter? As December 2012 begins, many Americans are asking themselves (and us) that question. While we've certainly seen some bona fide snowstorms -- heck, we've named two of them already -- there are parts of the country that haven't seen much snow at all. (WINTER STORMS: Athena | Brutus) For instance, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Des Moines have only seen a trace of snow so far this season. Normally snowy Grand Rapids, Mich., and Rochester, N.Y., had 0.3...

East Coast Blizzard of 1996 January 1996 Blizzard A Brooklyn resident begins the task of digging out a path along the sidewalk January 9, 1996 in New York. Credit: JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images January's reputation for extreme winter storms is well deserved given the month is right in the heart of winter. Although there are many crippling storms to highlight throughout history in the month, we've picked five from different regions of the country that had major snow or ice impacts....

Winter Storm Freyr delivered a swath of snow from the Ohio Valley eastward across the Northeast and New England. Origin of the name Freyr (rhymes with "flare") - A Norse god associated with fair weather, among other things. (MORE: Why we name winter storms) Snow Totals Recap for Freyr Freyr dumped localized amounts of more than a half a foot of snow in the Ohio Valley Friday night into early Saturday. The snow spread across the Central Appalachians and Northeast...

Winona, Minn. Chelsea Gerth, left, 9, and Angel Martinez Carbaja, 10, race to grab snow from a picnic table during a snowball fight in the fresh snow, Sunday, Dec. 9,, in Winona, Minn. Around three inches of snow had fallen by noon on Sunday. (AP Photo/Winona Daily News, Joe Ahlquist) ...