Unseasonably warm weather sets 2-day December record

For two straight days, record temperatures in metro Detroit have broken previous records, according to the National Weather Service. As of 1 p.m., Sunday record highs were set once again at 61 degrees in Detroit and 64 degrees in Flint. The previous Detroit record, 60 degrees, was set in 1881 and the prior Flint record was 55 degrees in 1991. Saturday’s high of 63 degrees at the airport in Romulus broke the Dec. 12 record of 61 from 1949. Pontiac and White Lake Township also set records Saturday. The unseasonably warm temperatures partly are due to warm, moist air moving northwest from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico and the warming El Nino weather system, Meteorologist Deb Elliot said. Meteorologist Dan Thompson said the warmth can also be attributed to the wind pattern in the upper levels of the atmosphere. "There's a big ridge in place and that’s usually associated with warmer than normal temperatures," Thompson said.