"we've passed the Winter Soltice the days will be getting longer and by February it could be in the 70's "

You may be right on this but I wouldn't open the bubbly yet. I have been keeping good track of the snowfall and rainfall for certain areas because of the fire danger next year. While Oregon seems to be over average, much of Washington is not.. and thats where Bonneville is located with all the nice hydro dams..Unless we get dumped on in January we may be headed for a disaster next year both in water for wells and firefighting...which is two fold--- Lack of moisture turns firs and pine brown and kills a good many of them. Also the increased temps make for the budworm which kills trees even faster than Pacific Lumber! If the drought continues this year, it could be the worst on record...and California will then REALLY have power worries as well as Washington and Oregon.