Winter, the time when snowflakes frost the ground, and people wear thick jackets and hats to stay warm. That’s what it should be like, at least. However, in the past couple of years there have been drastic changes in what used to be considered as “normal weather”, creating stark changes and unpredictable patterns in Michigan’s weather. This unpredictability showed in Oct. of 2024, when temperatures rose very high. Will this warm pattern follow into the winter of 2025, or will we experience a colder, more normal winter?

According to Climate.gov, in October of 2024 in Berkley, temperatures hit nearly as high as 80 degrees Fahrenheit 6 times, making it the second hottest Oct. on record. These high temperatures are not normal. In contrast, the highest temperature for Oct 2014, was only 73 degrees fahrenheit. We have seen a pattern from 2020-2024, where the temperature has been close to 80 degrees in Oct.

Oct. 2024 was one of the warmest Oct. recorded, but will winter of 2025 match? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the northern parts of the U.S. seem to be heading towards a warmer winter, with wetter conditions in the eastern half of Michigan. The Detroit Free Press says the eastern half of Michigan is 33-40% of a warmer winter; the other parts of Michigan are undetermined. These wet conditions mentioned include rain, snow, sleet, ice, etc. These wetter conditions may point to La Nina, a term talking about wetter conditions due to ocean temperature differences in the Equatorial Pacific. Along with that, FOX 2 News says that the amount of snowfall vs. rain will depend on the temperature, where if it is warmer we may see rain. If it gets colder, snow is possible. According to AccuWeather, we can expect to see more snow from last year, but with breaks in between, due to warmer air coming in from the Pacific.

Though people have mainly predicted a wetter and warmer winter, this could all change really fast. Climate change doesn’t necessarily mean a warmer climate, but rather long-term changes in weather patterns over years. This could be reflected in heavier snow and rainfall one year over another. There could be many changes in what we expect to happen this winter and that may be a result of climate change. We may experience some warmer days, as well as colder days. For example, the weekend of Nov. 30, and Dec. 1 had lots of snowfall, but the days before we had no snow. Just because we may expect one type of weather, that doesn’t mean that that is what we will definitely experience, and there will always be changes in weather patterns.