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Last weekend's snowstorm notwithstanding, this winter - and particularly this month - the weather has for the most part resembled early spring or late fall.

And that has been a boon for homes and businesses that otherwise would have been clobbered this winter with sky-high heating oil prices.

Unlike most past winters, there have been no prolonged cold spells, rain has been much more commonplace than snow, and winds resembling March kite-flying days have been frequent.

With about a month to go in the season, the unseasonable weather has caused flooding and downed power lines, and may not have been welcome news for outdoor skaters.

But it has been bittersweet relief for homeowners. A colder winter really would have socked them in their already stretched wallets. "It is a good thing for homeowners it has been a mild winter," said Rick Warren, owner of Arrow Discount Fuel in Attleboro.

Prices have been so high, many customers are only filling their oil tanks halfway, with about 100 gallons, instead of filling tanks as in past years, Warren said.

"It is not the weather; it is the price," Warren said. "They are spending less because of the whole economy."

Warren says the past few winters have been fairly mild.

"It has been warmer than normal," said meteorologist Walter Drag with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Other than a fairly cold first half of December, "it has been relatively mild, which is good for fuel bills," Drag said.

But the trend over the past three decades - despite some notable exceptions -has been warmer weather, he said.

La Niña, associated with cooler than normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, may be a factor this winter, Drag said.

Also, there has been a "lack of a certain weather pattern in the North Atlantic, not allowing cold air to remain here very long," he said.

The lowest temperature this winter season has been 7 degrees on Jan. 3, when the thermometer never got past 15. The following day's low was 8 degrees, but that was the longest cold streak, according to the Attleboro Water Department. There was one day in December when the temperature fell to 8 degrees. And a three-day streak earlier this month had low temps in the teens.

Counting the latest 4-inch snowstorm, a total of 30.5 inches of snow has fallen this snow season, but most of that - 18 inches, came in December, which is more than double the month's average and the ninth highest most on record. The biggest snowstorm of the winter, 11 inches in mid-December that brought area roadways to a standstill, was a two-way tie for the third biggest one-day snowfall in December.

January saw just 5.25 inches of snow, and this month has had 7.25 inches of snow. Then again, last year only had 15.50 inches of snow.

Rain is another story this winter.

"It has been wetter than normal," Drag said. "It has been a very wet February."

With one week to go in the month, it is among the wettest Februarys on the books.

So far, 6.8 inches of rain has fallen in three weeks. The record is 7.2 inches in 1984. Three days had more than an inch of rain, including 2.2 inches during the nasty Jan. 13 rainstorm storm that arrived on the back of a small snowstorm.

The 2.2 inches was the fourth highest for a day in February, and that deluge of rain and melting snow flooded streets and basements throughout the Attleboro area.

Rain had been recorded by the water department on 12 of the first 19 days of this month.

December was also wetter than usual, with 5.86 inches of precipitation.

"It was predicted to be above normal precipitation" because of the anticipated storm track from the Ohio Valley, Drag said. "That is the general pattern of winter that has emerged."

STEPHEN PETERSON can be reached at 508-236-0377 or at speterson@thesunchronicle.com.