Farmers' Almanac Predicts This Winter Will Be A 'Polar Coaster'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This winter is being called a "polar coaster" by the Farmers' Almanac. It is predicting that "the worst of the bitterly cold winter conditions will affect areas east of the Rockies all the way to the Appalachians."
The most frigid temperatures will be, you guessed it, in the northern Plains to the Great Lakes.
The Farmers' Almanac's winter prediction is that the coldest outbreak should be during the final week of January and last through the beginning of February. Also expect above-normal precipitation in the Midwest and the Great Lakes.
According to the 2020 edition, storms should be expected in the eastern half of the country in January, including copious amounts of snow between Jan. 4 and 7 and Jan. 12 and 15.
The organization is also predicting "what could prove to be a memorable storm" that will bring large amounts of snow from the Texas Panhandle to the Great Lakes in the third week of January. The system is also predicted to bring the "coldest Arctic air" across the rest of the country into February.
And according to the same outlook, spring will get off to a slow start in the Midwest while snow and unseasonably chilly conditions hang on, possibly until April.
But can the weather be predicted so far in advance?
While Farmers' Almanac claims its forecasts are about 80 percent accurate, meteorologists disagree. They predict Farmers' Almanac is right less than half the time.