Summer hasn’t even ended yet, but the Farmers’ Almanac has already issued their winter forecast — and let’s just say it’s on par with the rest of 2020.
At the same time, another publication, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, is predicting a less dire winter as we close out 2020 and head into a new year.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center is still hammering out the details of their winter forecast, but preliminary forecasts are looking a little milder for most of the country.
Farmers’ Almanac Predicts Cold, Snowy Winter Ahead
The forecast from the Farmers’ Almanac is calling for especially cold, snowy conditions across the northern half of the U.S. east of the Rockies.
Everyone in the southern half of the country east of the Rockies can expect chilly, wet conditions, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
And west of the Rockies, it’s a bit of a mixed bag with mild, dry conditions in the Pacific Northwest with wetter conditions across the Southwest and all of California.
The Farmers’ Almanac, a publication that started over 200 years ago, issues a winter forecast every year using a secret formula. Their forecast is calculated “several years in advance,” and they claim to be correct 80% to 85% of the time.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicts A Mostly Soggy Winter
Anyone hoping for a mild winter is going to like what The Old Farmer’s Almanac has to say in their forecast.
Any cold, snowy conditions are limited to the Northeast, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and up and down the Rockies.
The rest of the country can expect a wetter, milder winter with only a couple of exceptions for avoiding the rain.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac is a slightly older publication, first published in 1792.
They also claim their forecast is accurate 80% of the time, and they create their annual long-term forecast using a combination of solar activity, climatology and meteorology.
The Climate Prediction Center Is Still Gathering Data
The Climate Prediction Center issues their official winter forecast every year at the end of summer, in late September. At the same time, they’re constantly updating their long-term forecasts using the latest weather and forecast data.
Their current outlook for the months of December, January and February is looking more mild than frigid for most of the country.
The southern half of the country and the Northeast can expect a greater chance for warmer than average temperatures, while most of the Midwest, northern plains, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest can look forward to typical winter temperatures.
As for snow and rain, the southern third of the U.S. is looking like it’ll be drier than average, the northern third will be wetter and snowier than average, and the middle of the country will experience something in between.
The three winter forecasts all tell very different stories.
Since we’re still an entire season away from the start of winter, it might be best if we take our approach to winter the same way we’ve had to approach all of 2020 — one day at a time.
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This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
