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) ...

Winter Storm Draco brought heavy snow in two phases. The first phase brought snow to the Cascades and Rockies December 17-18. The second phase of Draco hammered the Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes with heavy snow and strong winds December 19 into December 21. Above are the snow reports in the Midwest from phase two of Draco. More than a foot of snow was reported in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Zoom in on the map and...

Winter StormEuclid dumped a swath of heavy snow from California's Sierra to the Northeast during the Christmas holiday week. The storm also spawned tornadoes in the South on Christmas Day. For more on that story, click here. Euclid produced notable falling snow on Christmas Day in several locations, including... Little Rock, Ark.: Record snowiest Christmas Day (9"); snowiest single day since Jan. 6, 1988.Amarillo, Texas: Second "White Christmas" in a row; the last back-to-back White Christmases were in 1894 and...

Two-Thirds White, One-Third Green The winter of 2012-13 got off to a slow start. But with two-thirds of the country covered in snow by New Year's Day, the odds are pretty good that you've gotten a taste of winter chill, winter driving, or both. But with a warming trend ahead in the forecast, that raises the question: Has winter already peaked? Before we tackle that question from a forecasting angle, let's tackle it from a climatology angle -- let's look...

The Winter Storm Team has named the impending winter storm Gandolf based on the following potential impacts: Impacts: As much as 6” to 12” of snowfall across a large area. Strong winds gusting over 35 mph at times will occur along portions of the area impacted by Gandolf. Finally, very cold temperatures and strong winds will produce bitter cold wind chills over a large area as well. Major Interstates will see significant travel impacts. Location: Intermountain West through the Northern...

Winter Storm Athena Winter Storm Athena brought a swath of snow to the Northeast coast in early November. 4.9 percent of the country was covered by snow after Athena. Each of the six named winter storms this season has left its own unique "thumbprint" on the nation. You can see this by clicking through the images above to see the track of each named storm and the swath of snow left behind near these tracks. After a very wintry end...

Winter Storm Gandolf brought heavy snow and localized blizzard conditions from the northern/central Rockies starting on January 9, 2013, and then shifted slowly east into the Northern Plains by early January 12. Below are some of the storm reports and snow totals from Gandolf. You can also click on the snowflake icons in the interactive map above to view more snow reports from Gandolf. Utah received very heavy snow from Winter Storm Gandolf. Blizzard conditions were reported in parts of...

Tokyo's First Snow of 2013 Dressed in Japanese kimonos, Japanese youths walk in the snow following a Coming of Age ceremony at an amusement park in Tokyo Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi) The heaviest snowstorm in seven years struck Monday, causing thousands of car accidents and disrupting train travel just as the nation celebrated a unique national holiday. Coming of Age Day, held the second Monday of every January, celebrates those who have turned or are about to...

Pottsville, Pa. Eric Heck, shows proper form as he bends at the knees shoveling snow on S. 19th Street, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013 in Pottsville, Pa. Winter Storm Helen made its first impact in the South. A mix of sleet and snow, accompanied by lightning, made travel a mess in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area on the morning of Jan. 15. Up to 1.5" of snow/sleet accumulated in Mesquite, Texas. At least one freeway overpass in Ft. Worth was closed...

California Cold Snap Icicles develop along a brick wall and on bushes as water from the sprinkler system freezes at a home on the corner of Willow Street and Peach Avenue in Hesperia, Calif, on Monday, Jan. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/The Victor Valley Daily Press, David Pardo) FRESNO, Calif. -- The freeze gripping the West appeared on the verge of easing Tuesday, but farmers who spent millions to protect crops were still assessing damage, some produce prices climbed, and businesses...