SEATTLE — A weather pattern partly linked with El Nino has turned winter upside-down across the United States during a week of heavy holiday travel, bringing spring-like warmth to the Northeast, a risk of tornadoes in the South, and so much snow across the West that even skiing slopes have been overwhelmed.

In a reversal of a typical Christmas, forecasters expect New York to be in the mid-60s on the holiday — several degrees higher than Los Angeles.

The mild conditions have helped golf courses in New England do brisk business, but the pattern comes at a steep cost for ski resorts that have closed and for backcountry skiers who confront avalanche risks.

And many Americans complain that it just doesn’t feel like the holidays without a chill in the air.

Large parts of the country are basking in above-average temperatures, especially east of the Mississippi and across the Northern Plains. Record warmth is expected on Christmas Eve along the East Coast, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service.

He laid the credit — or blame — with a strong El Nino pattern, the warming of surface waters in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. That’s helped drive warm air west to east across the Lower 48 and kept colder air from the Arctic at bay, he said.

In the Pacific Northwest and California, the effects of El Nino haven’t really hit yet. They’re typically seen in January through March, and the heavy rains and snows in the region are probably not linked to the phenomenon, said Washington state climatologist Nick Bond.

While ski resorts celebrated a deluge that threatened to drop almost 2 feet of snow in parts of Colorado’s mountains, forecasters warned of serious avalanche risks.

Associated Press