Farmer’s Almanac predicts we may not see as much snow as we’d like this winter

The new edition of the Farmer's Almanac predicts a cold winter for much of New England. (Farmer's Almanac)

For what it’s worth, which, admittedly, may not be much, the latest edition of the Farmer’s Almanac is out, which gives us a glimpse — or at least, a guess — into what kind of weather we should expect this winter.

In this case, it’s a forecast we should root against. 

According to the 2021-22 winter outlook, “there will be snow, but probably not as much as snow-sport enthusiasts might dream of.” Which, I suppose is fair since those dreams can tend to get overzealous.

“On average, we’ll see near-normal amounts of the white stuff from coast to coast,” the report reads. “However, there will be notable month-to-month variations.” 

There isn’t much else dramatic to speak of. The prediction calls for a mild start to January, which seems to be an annual trend, leading into a cold February. There will be a “winter whopper” toward the end of the month for the Northeast. 

March will see “a late winter storm…at mid-month followed by a nor’easter along the East Coast toward month’s end.” 

The formula for the Farmer’s Almanac, which has been published since 1818, “takes into consideration things like sunspot activity, tidal action of the Moon, the position of the planets, and a variety of other factors.” 

The Almanac authors claim they can forecast the weather with up to 80 percent accuracy. A University of Illinois study disagreed, saying the Almanac was only 52 percent accurate—which is essentially a roll of the dice.

So, it’s going to snow. Or it might not. Plan accordingly.