Farmers’ Almanac 2024-25 winter outlook released

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – It may still be August, but it is not too early to start thinking about winter…

The Farmers’ Almanac has released their 2024-2025 winter outlook for the United States. “Brace yourself for a Wet Winter Whirlwind ! Farmers’ Almanac winter weather forecast calls for a season of rapid-fire storms that will bring both rain and snow, with little downtime in between.”

Take a look at the map below for details. For us here in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio, the winter is expected to be “Cold, Wet & White.”

Overall, they expect the winter to be wetter and colder than average, due to the transition back to La Niña conditions by the winter. Remember, this pattern is when there is a cooling of the ocean temperatures of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean along the equator. This typically brings an active weather pattern to our area.

Other specific details mentioned in the outlook for our area include, the last week of January into the beginning of February will feature the coldest air of the season with heavy lake effect snow showers happening in locations east of the Great Lakes. Overall, the coldest winter temperatures in the country will be experienced in the northern Plains over into the Great Lakes region, which includes us.

The almanac also states: “We are “red flagging” the final week of January over most of the eastern half of the country because of a very active storm track that we expect will deliver frequent bouts of heavy precipitation, as well as strong and gusty winds. We would especially highlight the time frames from January 20 to 23 and 24 to 27 , which could mean copious amounts of snow, rain, sleet, and ice (depending on where you live).”

Now, just how accurate are their winter predictions? Let’s take a look back at what they have predicted in recent years and if they are accurate…

2023-2024 was Cold, Stormy ; 2022-2023 was Unseasonably Cold Snowy ; and 2021-2022 was Icy, Flaky . Take a look at the results below. Some results are subject to interpretation – there are question marks here. However, the rest of the snow amounts are below average and the temperatures are above average, which do not match the descriptions for our area.

2020-2021 was Cold, Very Flaky ; 2019-2020 was Frozen, Snowy ; and 2018-2019 was Biting Cold, Snowy . Take a look at the results below. Only 2020-2021’s snowfall amount matches the almanac’s prediction when compared to the averages listed.

2017-2018 was Cold, Average Snowfall ; 2016-2017 was Numbing Cold & Snowy ; and 2015-2016 was Snow Filled & Frigid . Take a look at these results below. Again, only the snowfall total from 2017-2018 roughly matches the outlook from the Farmers’ Almanac.

This shows why more often than not you should not trust this forecast. Stay tuned for our official winter outlook that will be released before this winter! For more on the Farmers’ Almanac winter outlook, click here .

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