Coming off an unusually warm December, the lack of snow and mild temperatures trend will likely continue into the new year due to a strong El Nino in place.
Dan Cornish, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Gaylord, said just down the road from Leelanau, Traverse City observed its second warmest December on record in 2023, with an average temperature of 37.7 degrees. 2015 remains the warmest day on record with a temperature of 38.3 degrees. According to the Maple City National Weather Service (NWS) volunteer station, Leelanau County has only seen 18.6 inches of snow so far this season.
Across northern Michigan, Cornish said the state saw average temperatures range anywhere from eight to over 11 degrees warmer than normal due to a combination of factors. El Nino is the biggest driver for the warmth though, which is also affecting lake ice coverage. The average ice coverage across the Great Lakes was at .2% just days ago, Cornish added, making less than 1% of the Great Lakes covered in ice right now.
