Farmer’s Almanac Winter 2021-2022 Predictions by Region

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The Farmers’ Almanac has officially released its 2021-2022 winter forecast. While their predictions won’t delight those who hate change—expect back-and-forth weather patterns across the country—for the most part, winter will be relatively normal this year.

Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and the Midwest
This winter, it’s business as usual in the Great Lakes region. “Overall, we’re saying winter will be ‘icy and flaky,’ so we don’t think there will be any major surprises there—other than a little disappointment from the snow lovers, as we don’t see a lot of the white stuff predicted,” explains Duncan. “The winter might be a bit boring for the die-hard snow lovers.” Anyone hoping for major snow, however, should be excited by the potential for a winter storm towards the end of February, but according to Duncan, there’s nothing on the horizon that Midwesterners can’t handle.

North Central U.S.

If you live in the north-central portion of the United States, on the other hand, Duncan says you will likely see a fair amount of snow in the new year. “This section of the country will experience some cold conditions and a good amount of snow,” she says, adding that January looks very winter-white thanks to a possible blizzard coming between January 20 and 23. One thing you won’t see? A white Christmas. The week of St. Nick’s visit is calling for “fair skies and not-so-frigid [temperatures].”

Northeast and New England

New Englanders who dread seeing snow will be particularly happy. “Average winter [temperatures] and average-to-below-average snowfalls” are predicted, notes Duncan. “Interestingly, and unlike last year, we are predicting more storms and snowfall in January in 2022 with a marked deficit in February,” she adds. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a flurry on the horizon: According to Duncan, there could be a post-Valentine’s Day storm that produces quite a bit of powder in this region.

Northwest

One area that seems to be staying the course is the Northwest. This area will see “average precipitation and temperatures. We are predicting a few major wet and white events in January and February, but overall, it’s about average,” according to Duncan. As for the wetter portion of the forecast? The Farmers’ Almanac is calling for “severe Pacific disturbances” between the 8 and 11, with heavy rains in coastal and valley regions and heavy snow in the higher elevations.

Southwest

There’s good news on the horizon for those dwelling in the Southwest: Expect some much-needed precipitation in the coming months. “They should see a rainier winter than last year, but nothing too severe,” says Duncan. This could definitely help with current drought conditions, so long as temperatures continue to fall within seasonal averages.

South Central States

Last year was a difficult one for some of the south-central states, which is why things might be looking up for this region come winter. “Overall, another cold winter [is] on deck with a possible winter storm in January—but not as harsh and devastating as last year,” Duncan says. Those who were heavily impacted by winter storms that ravaged power grids in the lower states can likely breathe a sigh of relief this time around.

Southeast

The southeast states are going to get hit with a mixed bag of precipitation. While that may be good news for some Southerners who are excited by the prospect of snow, Northerners who relocated to warmer temperatures—so that they could trade in their snow shovels for flip flops—are likely to be mildly disappointed this year.

Overall Expectations

The Farmers’ Almanac long-range forecasts are pointing towards a “frosty flip-flop” season—which means that the temperatures in many areas will change from warm to cold to warm to freezing to above normal (and back again!). This might mean that precipitation east of the Mississippi River could fall in the form of ice and cold rain, as opposed to snow—which, depending on how much you like the frosty stuff, could be very good or very bad news.