You may want to swap out your snow boots for rain boots this year. Most of the country can expect more rain and less snow this winter, says The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The OFA, founded in 1792, just released its annual weather forecast—and it says that 2019 will be warm and wet.
“This winter, we expect to see above-normal temperatures almost everywhere in the United States, except in the Southwest, where we’re predicting a colder-than-normal season,” the OFA forecasts.
“Our milder-than-normal forecast is due to a decrease in solar activity and the expected arrival of a weak El Niño, which will prevent cold air masses from lingering in the North,” it continues.
So much for dreaming of a white Christmas. According to the report, precipitation will also fall in the above-normal range (except in Southern California, the Southeast, and a small patch of the Midwest), while snow levels will be below-normal (except the “interior West” and again, part of the Midwest).
Last winter, the OFA’s competitor Farmers’ Almanac (founded in 1818) predicted a cold and wet season. While the Almanac has yet to put out a forecast of their own for Winter 2019, the National Weather Service’s predictions are similar to the OFA’s: above-normal temps for most of the country, particularly the Southwest, Northeast, and Northwestern Alaska.
“During the autumn and winter 2018-19, the temperature and precipitation outlooks are consistent with the elevated probability of El Nino development and its impacts, with adjustments related to model forecasts and decadal timescale climate trends,” reads the report on the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.
Of course, as The Washington Post notes, you should take these forecasts with a grain of salt. Though the predictions are in line with long-term trends, the publication says, weather forecasting is simply not yet advanced enough to ensure accurate predictions this far out. Still, it might be worth investing in a good pair of wellies for winter.
(h/t: The Old Farmer’s Almanac)
From: Country Living US
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