If you’re counting down until summer’s warmer weather is here, be warned: it might actually get too hot to handle out there.
Following its extreme winter forecast, the Farmers’ Almanac just released its predictions for the upcoming summer 2023, which officially kicks off on June 21, and it clearly states that the season might become one of the hottest on record.
"While we hate to be the bearer of bad news, we’d be [remiss] not to warn you of what our long-range weather outlook is pointing to – sizzling temperatures," reads the website. "Our forecast, which is based on a proprietary formula that relies on many factors, including the Moon, is calling for a warmer than normal summer for most of the nation!"
Take out your sandals and bathing suits and turn up the air conditioner, folks.
HOW HOT WILL IT GET THIS SUMMER?
Interestingly enough, according to the Farmers' Almanac, the season will actually kick off with a number of rain storms, "especially [in] areas east of the Mississippi," that will then give way to warm temperatures all around the United States.
"Thunderstorms will announce the official start of summer in the Northeast with heavy rains possible from June 20-23 in the Northeast and Ohio Valley regions," reports the publication's website. "Showers and thunder will welcome the summer solstice in the Southeast, North Central, and South Central areas. Hot and dry conditions are expected on the West Coast."
Specifically, the Farmers' Almanac warns about temperatures reaching into the 90s and "perhaps even topping 100°F" in the majority of areas starting June through early September - all peaking in mid-August.
According to the outlet, in fact, in the middle of August, Americans will really want to spend a few days indoors, by some cool air. "Plenty of three-digit temperatures and high humidity are expected to heat up most of the country," read the predictions. "Temperatures could approach 110°F in some areas."
To put things simply: it’s about to get rainy out there… and then oh-so-warm for a few months.
HOW WILL THIS SUMMER MEASURE AGAINST LAST?
As hot as summer 2023 is expected to be, it might actually not be as sweltering as this time last year - which proved to be one for the records.
"According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the summer of 2022 ranked as the third-hottest summer in 128 years," the Farmers' Almanac reports while making predictions about the upcoming months. "The average temperature for the contiguous US for meteorological summer 2022 (June 1- August 31), was 73.9 degrees F, 2.5 degrees above average."
The season of 2021 and 1936 round out that top three ranking, with the former "beating the Dust Bowl summer by less than .01 degrees F, with the average temperature coming in at 74 degrees F," according to the outlet.
What also set 2022 apart was the overwhelming occurrence of extreme weather episodes, including droughts and storms.
We’ll have to wait and see if the summer of 2023 will break all above-mentioned records or not.
ARE WE GETTING ANY HURRICANES THIS SUMMER?
According to the Farmers' Almanac's long-range forecast, folks from the Gulf Coastal States northeast to the mid-Atlantic Coast will be under hurricane threat during the third week of August.
In September, the Atlantic Seaboard will also probably have to deal with an extreme temperature episode, as will people on the Southeast coast during Columbus Day weekend - which will technically count as the fall season.
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.
