News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Ken Anderson shovels off a sidewalk in Alpena on Thursday. Forecasters expect some lake-effect flurries in the area, but little chance of any snowstorms.

ALPENA — Last month, the Alpena area received more snow than the long-term average, but a warm spell at the end of the month melted it off quickly.

In December, Alpena received 18.8 inches of snow, nearly two inches more than the long-term average for December of 16.9 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

A bulk of the snow came over a four-day span from Dec. 20 to 23, when 8.2 inches were recorded at the Alpena County Regional Airport. Alpena received 4 inches on Dec. 20 alone.

Despite the snow and a day or two when the area saw some rain showers, Northeast Michigan remains in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Temperatures in Alpena last month were a tick warmer than in a typical December. The average temperature last month was 29 degrees, surpassing the long-term average of 26.6 degrees.

Meteorologists recorded the warmest day of the month on Dec. 28, when the temperature climbed to 51 degrees. The lowest recorded temperature came during the overnight hours of Dec. 22, when temps dropped to 5 degrees below zero.

Meteorologists recorded eight days when the Alpena area hit 40 degrees or warmer, including three days near the end of the month that wiped away the snow the area received only a week earlier.

The next couple weeks are shaping up to be cool, but little snow is in the extended forecast as of now.

According to the Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, the balance of this winter is shaping up to be warmer than average, but the first half of January could be brisk.

Beyond that, the Prediction Center forecasts February and March have the potential to end up well above average in terms of temperature.

Nicole Sprinkles, a meteorologist for the Weather Service office in Gaylord, said climate models show below-average temperatures for the next 10 days ago, with some light snow, but nothing significant.

“We’ll see temperatures in the mid-20s and colder overnight,” she said. “There is a chance of some lake-effect flurries at times, with maybe a heavy snow band or two, but, right now, we’re not seeing any large snowstorms or anything.”

December 2023 was significantly warmer and included less snow than last month. The average temperature was 34.5 degrees and included four days in the 50s and a whopping 15 days when temperatures exceeded 40 degrees.

Alpena received 5.1 inches of snow in December 2023.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.