Farmers’ Almanac issues chilling prediction for winters across US

The Farmers’ Almanac has recently issued its extended forecast for the 2025-2026 winter season across the US. The latest prediction describes the outlook as a “wild weather ride across the nation.”

The gloomy winter outlook also includes “consistent cold snaps” from the Pacific Northwest to New England; periodic snowstorms across the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes, the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic.

Moreover, wetter-than average weather is also expected in the southern half of the country with cold and freezing precipitation in and around Texas.

On the whole, the prediction is summed up in three words, “Chill, Snow, Repeat.”

The Farmers’ Almanac further predicts a return to old-fashioned winter characterized by long, cold months with repeating cycles of snowfall.

Other events also include frigid bouts from the Northern Plains to northern New England in January and February and snowstorms in North Carolina and Tennessee in late February and early March.

According to editor Sandi Duncan, “We don’t think the cold and snow that some southern areas saw last year will repeat, but we do see some wild swings in the temperatures that will keep our winter on snow, chill, repeat loop and may surprise some folks with wet snow that shows up instead of rain.”

Accuracy of Farmers’ Almanac: Debatable issue

Given the ominous prediction related to winters in the US, a question comes to a mind: is the forecast worth-believing?

Farmers’ Almanac, founded in 1818, has long been using a proprietary formula to predict weather patterns and celestial activities.

According to a study published in the 1981 edition of Weatherwise, the Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers’ Almanac had exhibited accuracy rates of over 50 percent.

The study showed only 50.7 percent of historical temperatures and 51.9 percent of precipitation forecasts, predicted by both almanacs were correct,

Rich Segal, a Nexstar meteorologist said, “It’s more like a crapshoot. It’s just not possible to predict specific weather events months beforehand.”

Duncan said defending the precision of predictions, “ No forecast can claim perfect accuracy, but our predictions have proven useful for generations to come.