Ready for Cold? The Farmer’s Almanac Says Winter Temps Will Be Above Average

I'll admit, it seems a little early to start talking about the upcoming Maine winter, am I right? I mean at the writing of this article, there are still several days left for the month of July.

However, for many of us here in Maine, and around the United States, we hang our hats on the early winter-weather predictions put out by our friends at The Farmer's Almanac.

Originally created to help farmers get an idea of what the planting season would look like months down the road, the Farmer's Almanac has transformed into a lifestyle-like encyclopedia filled with all kinds of tips, tricks and, of course, weather predictions.

Now, much to people's disbelief, these predictions aren't done by flipping a coin for hot or cold weather or drawing straws to see which months will have above-normal precipitation amounts.

On the contrary, the staff at The Farmer's Almanac uses loads of scientific data as well as past weather trends to help craft their future weather predictions. As such, The Farmer's Almanac takes things like El Nino into consideration when forecasting.

I know what you're likely thinking, isn't that global warming? Well, technically yes, but experts say that El Nino can actually be responsible for dramatic drops in temperatures caused by the phenomenon of the Polar Vortex.

According to the Farmer's Almanac,

El Niño is the warm phase, while La Niña tends to be cooler. We’re expecting a neutral El Niño Southern Oscillation or possibly even a La Niña this winter, following a strong El Niño last year. At the same time, we’re anticipating a warm Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and a cool Pacific Decadal Oscillation. We’re also watching equatorial stratospheric winds known as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation. Combinations of these factors can also cause the polar vortex to drop added flashes of cold into North America.

So what does this mean for Maine, exactly? Well, it's kind of a twofer. If you read into the extended long range forecast, TFA does explain that they believe our overall winter temps will be slightly above average.

However, when you factor in the likely possibility of multiple polar vortex air masses passing through the region, that can drastically lower the season's average temperature... by a lot.

So, will Maine have the coldest winter in years? The jury is still out, however, if we get smacked with multiple polar vortexes, the average winter temperature could take an absolute nose-dive.

On the flipside, snow lovers rejoice because The Farmer's Almanac is saying that Maine's winter precip is likely to be above average this year, so gas up the snow blower early.