Snow-covered landscapes and mild mid 30s temperatures promise a white Christmas filled with warmth and cheer this holiday season.
After a clipper system brought winter weather advisories as well as several inches of widespread snow to the region Monday, a gradual warming trend will begin by Christmas eve and throughout the week as temperatures are expected to rise to 40 plus degrees by the weekend.
Faith Fredrickson, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Gaylord, said the roads for travelers on Christmas day should be a bit better than they have been with the anticipated warm up, but still advises drivers to take precautions like slowing down when and out and about on Christmas eve.
“It’ll be slightly above (temperatures) by a few degrees. Normally our high temperatures on Christmas are, depending on where you are, right around freezing for normal highs. It looks like right now we’re expecting mid 30s,” Fredrickson said. “We’re just kind of in a bit of an up and down weather pattern, and through the end of the week, it looks pretty reasonably mild and temperatures should try to make a run by this coming weekend… The weather looks really good for Santa this year.”
Approximately 27.5 inches of snow has already been observed in Leelanau this season. The snowless Christmas trend, however, is following last year’s warmer weather patterns. The highest snow depth for Christmas day, 37 inches, was recorded at a weather site in Maple City in 1983.
Brendan Mullane, Leelanau County Road Commission Manager, said they treat any holidays or weekends the same as they have assigned staff to patrol to make the call. They typically will be out by 3 a.m. driving the roads to make the decision as to whether plowing is needed.
“Supervisors will be out checking the roads to see if we need them in or not, but the whole crew is on call if need be,” Mullane said. “It’s definitely feeling closer to a ‘normal winter.’ The La Nina versus El Nino makes a big difference. The frustrating thing is when it freezes and thaws and then freezes again. We’re already into our third thaw I think this year already, which is frustrating. We got a nice big snow over Thanksgiving and that was great and then it thawed out and snowed again. It’s better work when it snows and stays cold and keeps snowing.”
This year, Mullane said they are fully staffed for the first time since he’s been working there, which is good news especially during active winters and the holiday season. In the days ahead, Mullane said he suggests people on the road be prepared for anything, noting that lake effect snow could affect travel and show up uncalled for.
“There’s always that chance, so we’ll drive it (the roads) anyways to make sure, but just be prepared, take it slow, give yourself plenty of time to brake and check the weather before you leave,” Mullane added. “But it’s also likely going to be different when you get on the road anyway. We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and know that we’ll be out there.”
