It’s official, folks: winter is here.
Following the Farmers' Almanac's extended winter forecast, the outlet has just released its extreme winter weather forecast and we have a single piece of advice for you: get ready to bundle up as it's getting incredibly cold out there. We even suggest you start thinking of how to keep your house warm in winter.
As frequent readers of the Farmers’ Almanac may have noticed, the site made its findings public earlier than usual this year. There's a reason for that.
"This year, with the extreme summer weather conditions broiling the country and the growing concern over the rising costs of heating oil, Farmers' Almanac is releasing its winter weather forecast earlier than ever," reads the website. "This winter will be filled [with] plenty of shaking, shivering and shoveling."
HOW COLD WILL IT GET THIS WINTER?
The Farmers' Almanac is very specific about this: folks in the Southeast and South Central states will have to contend with freezing temperatures - but not as cold as those expected to hit the Great Lakes areas, the Northeast and North Central regions. To put it bluntly: it's going to be oh-so-cold all around the United States, so prepare accordingly.
Even more specifically, the outlet warns people who live in the North Central States that temperatures may reach 40° below zero in mid-January.
The western portion of the company will have it a bit easier as experts predict brisker weather patterns in the areas.
WHEN AND WHERE WILL IT SNOW THIS WINTER?
According to the Farmers' Almanac, "January 2023 looks to be the stormiest for many areas including Texas and Oklahoma, where heavy snow is predicted during the first week" of the month.
Experts are also alerting the eastern half of the country that it will be an overall stormy winter. "For some areas, this may mean snow," reads the website. "But, for others, it will result in more slush and mush."
Those in the Southwest may either rejoice at or be saddened by the following news, though: it's going to be a dry winter in the area.
HOW DOES THE FARMERS' ALMANAC MAKE ITS PREDICTIONS EACH YEAR?
According to the Farmers' Almanac, there is a specific formula by which the outlet is able to make its long-range weather forecasts each year.
"The editors of the Farmers' Almanac firmly deny using any type of computer satellite tracking equipment, weather lore, or groundhogs," reads the publication's website. "What they will admit to is using a specific and reliable set of rules that were developed back in 1818 by astronomer and mathematician David Young, the Almanac's first editor. These rules have been altered slightly and turned into a formula that is both mathematical and astronomical."
Don't get too excited: apparently, the only person who really knows the formula is the Farmers' Almanac own weather prognosticator, a person that goes by the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee.
"To protect this proprietary formula, the editors of the Farmers' Almanac prefer to keep both Caleb's true identity and the formula a closely guarded brand secret," reads the website.
The publication does, however, reveal that the formula takes a lot of factors into account, including the position of planets, tidal action of the moon, and sunspot activity.
So sure are the predictors about their method that the Farmers' Almanac's forecasts are actually calculated two years in advance! According to the publication's website, "once the new edition is printed, the editors never go back to change or update its forecasts the way other local sources do."
In case you were wondering, a majority of the outlet's regular readers maintain that the generated forecasts are between 80% and 85% accurate in any given year.
