December climate in Northern Michigan is usually characterized by cold days and brisk nights with high temperatures in the mid-20s to 30s and lows in the 20s to mid-teens. The month normally features snowy skies and white ground as well, with average rain totals generally decreasing throughout the month as snow totals increase. By the end of December most spots generally see around 5-10″ of snow on the ground!
December of 2023 was far from normal, being one of the warmest seen across the region, the second warmest to be exact. Though we came close in some spots to breaking average temperature records, December of 2015 remains the warmest on record for Northern Michigan. It is interesting to note that it was mainly the consistent above average overnight lows that contributed substantially to this above average month rather than seeing several days of highs significantly above average.
Though it is worth noting that a couple spots broke records or tied records for highs this month -
Gaylord (Records beginning in 1951): December 9th, 53 degrees (broke previous record of 52 degrees set in 1990)
Traverse City (Records beginning in 1897): December 25th, 58 degrees (tied previous record set in 1982)
Precipitation totals saw a trend of falling below the mark, with all locations sitting under their average for December. When the region did see any precipitation it generally fell in bursts with lulls of dry weather or drizzle/flurries in between. The beginning of the month featured lake effect precipitation for a few days before drier weather persisted for the end of December. A round of showers did develop to end out the month in the form of rain with many seeing drops falling on the 27th and 28th. So, even though the month did feel gray and soggy, a majority of the precipitation we saw fell in bursts and did not add up to much, resulting in an overall dry December.
Snowfall was abysmal at best. Totals were significantly below average for December across the region, with all areas seeing a substantial snow deficit. We even broke a record in Gaylord for the least snowfall ever observed in December at 7.9″ (the previous record was set in 2011 at 9.8″). Overall, the trend was a green ground with short periods of white.
A majority of the white weather fell at the beginning of the month, with at least trace of snow on the ground for most spots up until the 19th. After that, it was green and brown for the rest of December.
