Another mild winter on the way?

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Plenty of people were outside on Monday enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, getting a run in or playing some golf.

"You can't beat it. Day off, 50 degrees, December. You can't go wrong," said Joe Malecki, a runner in Delaware Park.

But are these temperature swings good for your health?

"Some people think the weather itself makes people sick, but it's not really the case. What makes people sick is the bacteria or a virus. But some people get a lot of allergy symptoms with weather changes or asthma problems and they may not be diagnosed as asthma. So they think they are sick but it's just asthma or allergies," explained Dr. Maritza Baez, a family care physician.

Temperatures on Monday were in the 50s and most went outside without jackets and in short sleeves. If this was the summer time, everyone would be bundled up and in hats. Dr. Baez says though it may seem like something has physically changed in people, it's really just perception.

And the weather seems to be all over the place this year: early spring, dry summer, now a warm winter? Grabber and Sons have all the seasons covered with landscaping, a nursery, and snow plow services.

"What matters to us is that we are able to finish off our landscaping season before snow is sitting on the ground. The longer the mild weather, the happier we are," said Rich Grabbenstatter, President of Grabber and Sons.

So far nature is cooperating with their wishes. Last year's mild winter also saved the wear and tear on their plows. Grabbenstatter said none broke down, and they didn't need to be repainted.

"This year renewing our snow plowing contracts volume wise we are about the same as we were last year. The one thing you can't do is raise peoples snow plowing prices. Last year was the first winter we plowed inside 10 times," said Grabenstatter.

He said normally, they will plow between 22-30 times each winter. So far, this year seems to be mimicking last year, but 50-degree days aren't all that uncommon. Every ten years, WNY tends to experience a higher number than average 50-degree days.

So far this year, we have had 13 days above 50-degrees in November/December. The average number of days above 50-degrees is 16.