Farmer’s Almanac Gives Early Look to Midwest Winter Forecast: Not Bad

With a recent solar eclipse, heavy rains, and extremely mild temperatures across South Dakota has very few of us thinking cold and winter. But the latest Farmer's Almanac is, so we're taking note. And it isn't all that bad.

The 2017 - 2018 Farmer's Almanac gives us a not-so-bad glimpse of winter for the Upper Midwest:

Winter will be warmer than normal, with the coldest periods in late November, early and late December, early January, and early February. Precipitation and snowfall will be below normal, with the snowiest periods in mid- to late December and early to mid-February. April and May will be cooler than normal, with near-normal precipitation. Summer will be hotter than normal, with near-normal precipitation. The hottest periods will be in late June, late July, and early to mid-August. September and October will be warmer and slightly drier than normal.

But, how accurate is the Old Farmer’s Almanac’s predictions? According to Time, they are based on a top-secret formula, involving a complicated mathematical formula devised by founder Robert B. Thomas in 1792 that takes sun spots, planetary positions and tidal patterns into account.

El Nino and it's Atlantic Ocean warming effects are also taken into consideration - which could shift our weather patterns greatly.

Go ahead and punch in your zip code here for the long-term forecast for your area.

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