The Farmers’ Almanac Says to Prepare for a Cold, Wet Winter and More Snow Than Normal

If winter makes you miserable, you might want to start saving for a long West Coast vacation for next year.
The Farmers’ Almanac just released their predictions for winter of 2018, so would you like the good news or bad news first? Well, the good news is that they’re predicting more “normal” weather next winter; the bad news is that most of the country is looking at “above-normal precipitation.” Better stock up on umbrellas and rain boots!
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From the Great Lakes area to the Northeast, residents can expect “snowier-than-normal conditions,” so if you’re into skiing, sledding, and snow sculptures, you know where to travel next year. Those along the West Coast, on the other hand, should prepare for a pretty mild winter.
For those who dreamed of escaping to Florida in 2018, you might want to rethink that. According to the Almanac, temperatures there are expected to be chilly and wet. Fun! You can also look forward to an “unseasonable chill reaching as far south as the Gulf Coast, with above-average precipitation.” Looks like no Disney World for us.
Midwesterners aren’t too lucky either. The Almanac anticipates wild temperature and precipitation swings, which means a lot of flip-flopping between calmness and “occasional spells of tempestuous weather.”
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That said, Farmers’ Almanac has received a lot of flak from meteorologists for essentially being “as good as going to a psychic,” as one Twitter user put it.
Your annual reminder that using the Farmers Almanac for a seasonal meteorological is about as good as going to a psychic.
— Matt Lanza (@mattlanza) August 16, 2015
This news of next year’s winter comes on the heels of the Weather Channel’s predictions that said that fall was going to be extremely hot. Then, they said that August was set to an unusually cold month, so if even the Weather Channel is going back-and-forth, we can hope that the Almanac’s forecasts don’t come true.
h/t Country Living
This s’mores hot chocolate will warm you right up this winter!
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