Winter Predictions From The Farmer’s Almanac

According to The 2012 Old Farmer’s Almanac, this winter will bring
above-normal temperatures, on average, across much of the United
States. The season will be punctuated by several very cold periods.

The northern and eastern parts of the country can expect above-average
snowfall, while drought woes in Midwest and southern areas (from Texas
and western Louisiana northward to Nebraska and Iowa) could be
increased by below-normal precipitation.

A few highlights for Winter 2011–2012:

• Folks in the Northeast (including areas around Albany, New York;
  Concord, New Hampshire; and Augusta, Maine) should brace themselves
  for heavy snow, including a blizzard, in the days before Christmas.
  Snow showers are expected to follow.

• People in the Southeast (including areas around Atlanta,
  Georgia; Columbia, South Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina) should
  expect slightly above-normal temperatures and below-normal
  precipitation. In mid-December, a storm will come through the region,
  dropping snow in the north and rain in the south.

• Residents of the Ohio Valley (including areas around Louisville,
  Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) will feel
  winter’s chill in February 2012 when temperatures are expected to be
  26˚F, on average—6 degrees below normal for the month.

• Just about everyone in the Upper Midwest (including areas around
  Minneapolis, Minnesota; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Marquette, Michigan)
  will be freezing in February, with temperatures hovering around 3˚F on
  average, as much as 8 degrees below normal.

• Sad to say, but folks in Texas–Oklahoma (including areas around
  San Antonio and Dallas, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) aren’t
  expected to receive any drought relief this winter: Despite
  predictions of occasional rain, thunderstorms, and showers,
  “much-below-normal rainfall” is expected. Snow is forecast for the
  northern parts of the region in mid-December and early January.

• Growers and others in the Pacific Southwest (including areas
  around San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, California) will
  find themselves in two different climate zones, as precipitation is
  predicted to be much above normal in the north and below normal in the
  south.

And now the question on almost everyone’s lips: Will it be a white Christmas?

The answer in this Almanac is yes, especially in the Northeast, the
Ohio Valley, the Lower Lakes, the Heartland, the Upper Midwest, the
High Plains, and the Intermountain regions.