The Old Farmers Almanac is predicting a winter colder than normal with slightly more precipitation that normal for western Montana to close out 2017.

Senior Editor Sarah Perrault said on Tuesday that forecasters at the Old Farmers Almanac are predicting different weather outcomes for eastern and western Montana.

“Across the country, fall is expected to be a little cooler than normal,” Perrault said. “In Montana, it’s funny. In looking at the winter forecast, it’s almost like the state is cut in half. The very western part of the state will have colder than normal temperatures and above normal snowfall, whereas the eastern part of the state will have slightly warmer than normal temperatures and near normal snowfall.”

Perrault said the predictions are not for extreme cold and heavy snow, but conditions slightly colder than normal with slightly more precipitation, not another ‘Snowpocalypse’.

When looking forward to the summer of 2018, Perrault said the situation in Montana would be reversed.

“Again, it’s almost like the state is cut in half,” she said. “The eastern half will be cooler and drier than normal while the western half will be a bit warmer and wetter than normal.”

Perrault said the almanac’s weather predictions are based on principles set forth by its founder Robert B. Thomas when the first edition was published in 1792.

“It’s based on solar science, climatology, and meteorology,” she said. “Over the years, we’ve been able to enhance the formula because now we have state of the art technology and modern scientific calculations.”

The National Weather Service Office in Missoula was not ready to issue its own winter forecast just yet.

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