This winter could be one of the coldest in years
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Americans should prepare for a winter dubbed the “season of shivers.”
That’s part of the message the editor of the Old Farmers’ Almanac shared upon the release of the winter 2021-22 forecast.
“This coming winter could well be one of the longest and coldest that we’ve seen in years,” said Janice Stillman.
In some areas of the country, the cold weather will also include heavy snow.
“This extreme wintry mix is expected in areas of New England as well as throughout the Ohio Valley, in northern portions of the Deep South and in southeast New Mexico,” the almanac’s forecast says.
Montana, Colorado and the Dakotas could be in for warmer temperatures but heavy snow accumulations.
“While temperatures in this mid-country strip will be relatively normal, snowfall will be abundant, with several storms predicted throughout the winter.”
And western parts of the country may not see the same levels of snow and rain in the winter, but the temperatures will indicate winter has arrived.
“Most western areas will remain relatively dry, with all but the Pacific Coast itself and portions of the Southwest experiencing the frigid cold predicted for much of the rest of the country,” the forecast says.
Multiple factors play into this winter’s forecast.
A weak La Nina and Solar Cycle 25 (a solar cycle of sunspot activity which started in December 2019 and is expected to continue until about 2030) among them.
Solar Cycle 25 “is expected to bring very low solar activity-historically associated with cooler temperatures, on average, across Earth.”
The Almanac claims its accuracy rate is about 80 percent.
That number was a little lower last winter.
“Specifically, the accuracy rate in forecasting the change in temperature versus the previous winter across all 18 regions of the U.S. was 72.2 percent,” a 2020-21 winter recap says.