Ortonville and Goodrich residents can expect a green Christmas. So can the rest of Michigan, and well, pretty much the rest of the country, says Brian Montgomery, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in White Lake Township.
For a white Christmas, head to the Rocky Mountains. Denver, Colorado is assured of a white Christmas after a heavy snowfall of more than 20 inches this past week.
Michigan, however, is stuck in a weather pattern that is bringing in warm, moist, Pacific air, instead of cold air from Canada.
‘We’re also in an El Nino pattern,? said Montgomery. ‘It seals the deal for no white Christmas, sorry about that.?
Montgomery said there is a 30-percent chance of snow, but he expects that, if anything, it would be flurries, with no snow cover. Christmas Day will be mostly cloudy, with a high of 41. December overall has had temperatures above normal, a trend that will continue for the rest of the winter.
‘We’ve had four years in a row of white Christmases,? said Montgomery. ‘This year we have a good chance of breaking that string.?