Grand Rapids experiences snow drought in December

Grand Rapids literally witnessed a snow drought this December as the city received the lowest amount of snow in the first 25 days of the month in nearly seven decades.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Grand Rapids received just three-tenths of an inch of snow in the first twenty-five days of December this year. It is the least snow that the city received since 1946, when just five- tenths of an inch of snow fell.

The notable lack of snowfall is in sharp contrast to the 31 inches of snowfall that the city received last month, which made November the snowiest on record in the on-record history of the city.

Nathan Jeruzal, a meteorologist for the NWS in Grand Rapids, noted that the city residents were expecting a white Christmas for sure.

Commenting on the low level of snowfall, Jeruzal said, "Going from one of the snowiest Novembers to a least-snowiest December is quite a stark change. It's the opposite of what you expect in a typical year. A lot of people thought we'd get a white Christmas for sure."

Jeruzal added that a weak El Nino irregularity forming in the Pacific Ocean could be playing a small role in the warm spell that Michigan is currently experiencing.

This year's 'green' Christmas for Grand Rapids was one of nine since the year of 1988. The average snowfall on the Christmas Day during that time period has been estimated at 3.4 inches. The most recent holidays without snowfall for Grand Rapids were in 2011 and 2012.