News Photo by Maxwell Olmstead Snow lays on the ground at the intersection of North 1st Avenue and Park Place on Friday.

ALPENA — Residents of Alpena on Wednesday may be treated to a white Christmas for the first time in two years.

For Christmas Eve on Tuesday, the National Weather Service forecasts a high near 34 and Christmas Day boasts a high near 36. The Weather Service forecasts no precipitation on either day, but snow that fell on Thursday and Friday — and more forecast for Monday — could still be on the ground come Christmas Day.

The seven-day forecast on the National Weather Service’s website shows a high of 39 on Thursday.

All of the other high temperatures for the week are forecast at 32 or below. Alpena may see some precipitation over the seven-day period, according to the Weather Service.

According to Sean Christensen, meteorologist for the Gaylord Michigan National Weather Service, most of the snow on the ground should hold for the next couple of days.

Monday night could bring another round of snow, according to Christensen. One to two inches is expected.

Christensen said the Alpena area will experience a cold air front over the next few days, with a warm air front coming on Monday.

“As long as the snow can withstand the warm air on Tuesday and Wednesday, most, if not all, of the snow should stick around,” said Christensen.

Expect some wind chill today, getting down to 3 degrees below zero. A north wind of 10 to 15 mph is expected during the day.

Cloud cover will be fairly consistent over the next week, with Sunday emerging as mostly sunny. Saturday night will drop down to a low of 4.

The Weather Service expects no hazardous weather today through Wednesday.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this winter will be a wetter one in Michigan, being warmer in some of the eastern parts.

Because of a La Nina weather pattern, in which fall weather is warmer and drier than normal, the winter will probably be wetter than average.

La Nina refers to the periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean.

That means more rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, and hail, according to the Detroit Free Press. That puts the outlook at a 40% to 50% chance of wetter-than-average conditions.

Christensen said Alpena will see pretty good odds overall for a white Christmas.

Maxwell Olmstead can be reached at 989-358-5687 or molmstead@TheAlpenaNews.com.