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       January 10, 2012

　

(CNN Student News) -- January 10, 2012 Slow Winter Start AZUZ: Many Americans are walking in a winter-less wonderland. Snowplows in Iowa don`t have enough snow to plow. Lake Erie hasn`t frozen yet. Chicago is seeing one of its least snowy winters ever. Many meteorologists blame something called La Nina. That`s a weather pattern that starts in the Pacific Ocean, and they`re saying that`s the reason why it`s been sort of a warm, snowless winter in many places. There are some exceptions to the rule, as you`re going to see in today`s "Before We Go" segment, but over in Vermont, Keith McGilvery of affiliate WCAX shows us how some snow-starved ski slopes are struggling. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEITH MCGILVERY, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Skiers across Vermont are sharing a similar story about less-than-ideal conditions out on the slopes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s some grass poking through and some sticks and logs. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s really icy and there`s not many trails that are open right now. MCGILVERY (voice-over): A mild start to winter has meant bad news for skiers and boarders taking to their favorite mountains. JOSH ARNESON, BOLTON VALLEY REPORT: Ah, yes, it`s been a little bit of a slow start as far as natural snowfall goes. So for us, visitation`s been down a little bit over the past few weeks, a little bit of a softer Christmas than we like to see. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m a summer person, so it wasn`t that big of a deal to me really, but I like to ski, so I`ll -- I`m wishing for more snow. MCGILVERY (voice-over): At SugarBush, the slopes that were open weren`t packed, and there were plenty of seats in the dining room for folks grabbing lunch. President and owner Win Smith says the lack of natural snow has meant a 5 percent to 8 percent drop in business from this time last season. His team is using social media to get the word out that trails are open. WIN SMITH, SUGARBUSH RESORT: Well, we get third-party endorsements. People come here; they have a good time; they post on Facebook; they post on YouTube, and that makes it very believable that there`s snow here, even if it`s sod in the back yard. MCGILVERY (voice-over): Families sticking to their vacation plans in the Green Mountain State are making the best of the weak start to winter. (END VIDEO CLIP)