While snow is already starting to blanket parts of the Upper Peninsula and some communities in the Northern Lower Peninsula are seeing their first flurries, the Capital Region might not get wintry weather for another few weeks.
There's a strong El Niño climate pattern in affect this year. That usually means a milder and drier winter in Michigan.
Walt Felver is a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Grand Rapids. He says there's no significant snow in the forecast for the region for the foreseeable future.
"It might be December before we see any snow in mid-Michigan," he said.
Felver says while people might be happy it won't be as brutally cold as the last, a milder winter could cause issues for businesses offering seasonal recreational activities, like skiing and snowmobiling.
"They're going to have most likely have to make more snow, and that's if it's cold enough to make snow. It eventually will get cold enough for that, but then how long does it last? Do we get a warm up? Does it melt? Does it rain on top of it?"
A less predictable winter could also cause issues for hibernating animals that might get confused with cold weather stops and starts.
