Fewer patients are suffering from cold weather-related maladies this season due to warmer winter temperatures.
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 139 people suffered from illnesses due to chilly weather from December 1 to last Sunday.
 
The tally is a drop from 279 during the same period a year earlier.
 
The number of deaths due to cold weather-related diseases also fell to four from eight last year as the average temperature stood at three-point-five degrees Celsius last month, two degrees higher than the yearly average.