A snowy November 2008 kept Adam Orth busy plowing driveways and parking lots. But this year, Orth hasn't used his plow. Instead, he's cutting lawns and building retaining walls.

"You do whatever the weather gives you," said Orth, president of AMO, Inc. Outdoor Services in Traverse City. "Last year kind of caught us off-guard. It's nice for us to have a couple extra weeks to prepare for winter this year."

Orth could receive more than a couple of winterless weeks. The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center calls for above-normal temperatures throughout December. The average temperature for December in Traverse City is 27 degrees, but locals could experience warmer temperatures this year.

"It doesn't mean we won't have cold weather, because we will," said Jeff Halblaub, meteorologist with the National Weather Service station in Gaylord. "But when the cold temperatures come, it will quickly be replaced by warmer weather."

Halblaub said the relative warmth is a product of El Nino, a weather pattern that's developing in the Pacific Ocean and will impact weather across much of the country.

This year's climate prediction also calls for normal precipitation levels throughout December, but that could mean more rain than snow. And that's bad news for Rick VanTongeren, executive director of Mt. Holiday Ski Area in Traverse City.

Mt. Holiday's tubing slope opened by Thanksgiving last year, and snowboarders tested the slopes by Dec. 1.

"You want to be open by Dec. 1, but it doesn't appear to look like that," VanTongeren said.

Because profits are based on the weather, VanTongeren could be forced to make more of his own snow next month. He took steps in that direction on Nov. 14, when the ski area froze 1,400 buckets of water and shoved ice through a wood chipper to coat a hill.

Traverse City averages more than 24 inches of snow in December. But a lack of accumulation thus far hasn't necessarily meant smooth sailing on area roads.

Morning frosts this week prompted Kalkaska County road crews to scatter salt and sand on some local roads, said James Woodhams, road commission manager. Salt prices increased by 22 percent this year, so Woodhams welcomed the idea of warmer December.

"It eases the burden on our budget," he said.