What does cool summer mean for winter?

While record cool seasonal temperatures have put a chill on summer activities, there may be good news in that we haven't had many 90 degree days.

The lack of swimsuit use may mean less shoveling come January. Below normal temperatures we're seeing now means we should be headed for a less snowy, warmer winter than usual, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

So if all goes as planned, we'll have a winter of better rush hour commutes than last year.

And this is good news for homeowners. After a summer of limited air conditioner use, we may see lower heating bills with above normal temperatures, said Bill Nelson, observation program leader with the National Weather Service.

"This doesn't mean that we won't have any snow and that temperatures won't plummet at times, but these harsh conditions likely won't happen as much," according to the predication center's recently released report.

What's leading forecasters to think we're in for a moderate winter? El Nino is driving the predication.

El Nino is a global atmospheric event that takes place over the equatorial tropical Pacific Ocean. The warming of the waters there can affect the weather across the United States.

El Nino warm periods come in cycles of about every two to three years with the unusually colder periods called La Nina. Mother Nature sometimes has a mind of her own, but the trend usually calls for a better winter than usual, forecasters say.

And what can we expect as the kids head back to school? Forecasters say they should be comfortable. The fall should see normal temperatures and precipitation, forecasters say.

Last month was Illinois' coldest July since 1924.

Preliminary data gathered by researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign shows the average temperature last month was 70.4 degrees. That's 5.3 degrees below normal.

Climatologist Jim Angel says the previous record, set 85 years ago, was 71.5 degrees.

Associated Press contributed to this report.