December's unseasonably mild weather has some New Englanders antsy. Last winter began much the same way, only to have a record 9 feet of snow fall later on Boston. This picture of snow piles in downtown Boston was taken in February.

BOSTON — A warm start to winter has New Englanders feeling wary as Tuesday’s winter solstice approaches. And who can blame them?

Last winter began much the same way, only to dump a record 9 feet of snow on Boston.

“I’m very concerned,” said Mary Donovan, a Beverly, Mass., resident, as she waited for her train at Boston’s North Station last week wearing a light coat in 50-degree weather. “We had $20,000 worth of damage on our home last year because of ice dams. And there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. It’s very frustrating.”

Dave Green, who also was in North Station that day, said he’s resigned to another round of painfully long commutes from his home in Carver, near Cape Cod.

“If you look back, there was ’82 and ’83. Back-to-back bad years,” he said with a shrug. “It’s gonna be the same thing.”

Forecasters say the region isn’t due for another winter from hell, but many New Englanders aren’t taking any chances.

“People are actually being smart,” said Tim Duell, a worker at Manchester Hardware in Manchester, Conn., where customers are already loading up on rock salt, heavy-duty shovels and roof rakes.

Officials are also readying to battle the elements as places like Boston; Providence, R.I.; and Hartford, Conn., are all on pace for their warmest December on record.

In metro Boston, where a creaky transit system virtually ground to a halt during last year’s historic snows, trains are being outfitted with plows, careworn third rails are getting replaced and rail switches are getting heaters as part of a five-year, $83 million “winter resiliency” effort.

“We have to prepare for the worst-case scenario at all times,” said Alex Ambrosius, at Rhode Island’s Emergency Management Agency. “It has been so nice and warm, it’s hard to imagine any snow right now. But it’s New England. We’ll get it.”

To be sure, it’s an altogether different concern in the snow and ski country of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, where some resorts have suspended operations because of the lack of snow.

“Up here, the snow is our lifeblood,” said Eric Friedman, spokesman at the Mad River Glen ski area in Waitsfield, Vt. “It’s really been a bummer. We are so chomping at the bit.”

A sign at the base of the mountain reads: “All we REALLY want for Christmas is snow.”

Forecasters predict the northern reaches of New England will still see significant snow, as it does every year. But a particularly strong El Nino will continue to bring warmer weather to northern and central parts of the country, meaning a good portion of the above-average precipitation expected for New England will fall as rain, rather than snow.

The South, meanwhile, is expected to see colder than normal weather and drought-stricken California should see a heavy dose of rain and snow from El Nino.

“I don’t really see a crazy winter for the Boston area,” said Matthew Rosencrans, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in College Park, Md.