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ALPENA — Meteorologists who predicted that an El Nino would lead to mild December weather for Alpena were on the mark.

In preliminary climate data released on Monday, the National Weather Service says the average temperature was nearly 8 degrees warmer than the norm and Alpena received nearly a foot less snow than the long-term average.

The average temperature for the month was 34.5 degrees, well above the 26.6-degree average for December. The average high temperature was 40.3 degrees and the average low temperature was 28.7 degrees, which were well above where they normally are.

The highest temperature for the month was 58 degrees on Dec. 9, while the lowest temperature was 14 degrees during the overnight hours of Dec. 6.

In December, Alpena received a total of 5.1 inches of snow, which easily undercut the 16.9-inch long-term average.

The largest accumulation of snow happened on Dec. 3, when 2.4 inches of snow fell. All of the snow quickly melted because of the mild temperatures that followed.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Sean Christensen said the winter weather so far has been directly impacted by the ongoing El Nino and there is no indication the weather phenomenon will dissipate any time soon.

An El Nino is the warming of the ocean surface or above-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. This warming causes a shift in the atmospheric circulation and often leads to warmer winter temperatures in areas of the United States and less snow.

“This is the direct result of El Nino and the warm and dry weather are characteristics of it,” he said. “Our partner, the Climate Prediction Center, says it looks like El Nino is going to stick around for the duration of winter, so things could be milder overall, but there will still be cold and snow, maybe just not as much.”

Christensen said Alpena received a smattering of snow over the New Year’s weekend, and there is a chance for more in the next week or two. He said weathermen are also keeping an eye on a potential storm mid-month, which may or may not, impact the Alpena area.

“Later this week and next, it is going to get colder and we expect some snow,” he said. “Further out than that, there are a few hints of a potential storm impacting the U.S. but it is still too far out to know if it will impact northern Michigan. It’s early, but there is some evidence supporting that.”

The change in weather will be welcome to some who like to cross-country ski or ice fish, as it may produce the snow and ice needed to enjoy the activities they haven’t been able to do yet this year.

For others, now that the holidays are over, the less snow and cold the better, and each day that passes, is one step closer to spring.

“Things could go a lot of ways, we could get snow and ice, and then a warm spell again that melts it,” Christensen said. “We still have a lot of winter left and I expect we will get our fair share of both.”