Farmers' Almanac: Winter

Farmers' Almanac: Get Ready for 'Teeth-Chattering' Winter

But the Old Farmer's Almanac had a different prediction last week

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

This Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 photo shows the cover of the 2018 Farmers' Almanac in Portland, Maine.   

(AP Photo/David Sharp)

The Farmers' Almanac released its 2019 winter outlook this week, and it's a doozy: It predicts a "long, cold, and snow-filled winter," with the worst of the "teeth chattering" arriving in mid-February and higher than normal levels of snow in many areas.


That's in contrast to the Old Farmer's Almanac, which released its winter forecast last week ... and predicted a milder winter in most areas, with mostly warmer-than-normal temperatures and not as much snow (but more rain) than is typical.

The Old Farmer's Almanac is the one with the yellow cover that's been around since 1792; the Farmers' Almanac is only slightly less old, having been founded in 1818. It says in a press release that even though its forecast contrasts with "some stories floating around on the internet" about a mild winter, it stands by its "amazingly accurate" mathematical and astronomical formula, "which accurately predicted most of the winter storms last year." But Boston.com references one meteorologist who compares the forecasts to "Miss Cleo's winter outlook," and the Washington Post says the forecasts are mostly good for "entertainment value."