That's certainly the Michigan I remember. About half the time there was no snow on the ground at Christmas (Mom told me Santa had wheels on the sleigh to cover that contingency), and half there was. Sometimes we had a blizzard somewhere between Halloween and the New Year. Had pictures when I was a lad of a blizzard, and the Jack o Lanterns were still on the front porch.
One thing you can count on: The mercury will have been below 10 for at least a few days before February 1.
In the part of Michigan that I grew up in (western UP, in the 60s-80s) we usually had a freeze and sometimes a snowfall before Halloween, and often had snow on the ground before the opening of deer hunting season (not every year and often not to stay, although often enough that it was something the hunters hoped for). We usually had snow to stay by Thanksgiving, and it wouldn't be gone until April or May.
I understand that changed in the 90s and 00's, after I moved to Texas, but now it's more or less back to the way it was in the 70s-80s. Which makes me think that it's probably due to some solar cycle, or something similar. That is, a long-term weather cycle driven by forces not affected by humans.
