Fall is the best time to fertilize, not winter. Grass farmers like to apply 3/4 of their nitrogen in the fall and 1/4 in the spring.

Have you watered or has it rained an inch in the past month? If not you could go ahead and water. Monthly watering in the cooler months is a good idea to keep the soil healthy.

If your grass is just dry and it comes back, and assuming you want to fertilize this spring, you don't need to fertilize until after you have mowed the grass two times. This ensures you are fertilizing the grass and not just the winter weeds.

If you want to use an organic fertilizer, you can fertilize three weeks prior to your local "last frost" date.

Your grass is probably dormant and should start actively growing again in the spring.