A even warmer and less snowy winter ahead according to the new issue of The Old Farmers Almanac!

[Michael6268]

Fresh off the press! Almost the whole nation is going to be very warm and little snow for the upcoming 2016 - 2017 winter. Probably true the way last winter and this summer are going. Looks like we'll all be saving money again this year!

 

[Jags]

SNOWY - Jags loses again.

 

[peakbagger]

Cold and Wet for NH, I guess I had better double check my stack covers

 

[sportbikerider78]

I'm in upstate NY. We had a great winter this past season. Another mild year would allow me to get another 2 cord ahead. I'm all for that

 

[Dobish]

i guess the wood that I haven't gotten around to splitting will still dry out

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

It can be warmer than average as long as it's cold enough to keep a fire going.

The long range National Weather Service forecast isn't really predicting anything special yet. I'd trust them a lot more. The OFA is fun to talk about but their "methodology" is a little suspect.

http://www.almanac.com/content/how-we-predict-weather

 

[Dobish]

last year we had 65º in january....

 

[jharkin]

We where playing baseball with the kids in the yard on Christmas morning. Had to open windows because the oven was roasting us. Don't want to repeat that....

 

[begreen]

NOAA shows warmer in the south but an equal chance to go either way in the north. Of course this is just a long range climate prediction which can be quite off some years.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm in upstate NY. We had a great winter this past season. Another mild year would allow me to get another 2 cord ahead. I'm all for that

Hehheh . . . your idea of a "great" winter matches my wife's definition, but not mine. I thought it was a lousy winter . . . only rode the sled three times I think in total.

 

[firefighterjake]

I kinda suspect and suspected this coming winter will be very similar to last year . . . as I recall the last time New England had a mild, low-snow winter due to El Nino (or is it Nina, I can never remember) the next year's winter was a near repeat -- just a little more cold and a little more snowy.

I would also not be surprised to see a wet, rainy Fall since Mother Nature seems to have a way of balancing things out and right now Spring and Summer have been fairly dry and rain-free for us up here . . . and if that happens I can always fall back on my grandfather's ol' weather nugget -- "If the farm pond is full in the Fall, there will not be a whole lot of snow in the winter."

 

[sportbikerider78]

Hehheh . . . your idea of a "great" winter matches my wife's definition, but not mine. I thought it was a lousy winter . . . only rode the sled three times I think in total.

I ride motorcycles..so yeah.

 

[jharkin]

I would also not be surprised to see a wet, rainy Fall since Mother Nature seems to have a way of balancing things out and right now Spring and Summer have been fairly dry and rain-free for us up here . . . and if that happens I can always fall back on my grandfather's ol' weather nugget -- "If the farm pond is full in the Fall, there will not be a whole lot of snow in the winter."

Jake, we are in a full blown drought - and all the predictions I've heard is that its expected to be long term. At least here in Mass its been all over the news.

National Drought Summary for August 9, 2016
New England, the Northeast, and the Great Lakes Region
Little or no precipitation fell on most areas, leading to intensifying and expanding dryness and drought in many areas. Extreme drought (D3) was introduced in northeast Massachusetts where 90-day rainfall deficits exceeded 8 inches. In other drought areas, shortfalls of 4 to 7 inches were common during this period. Areas of D1 and D2 in northern Pennsylvania, western New York, Ohio, lower Michigan, and eastern Indiana expanded significantly.
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/RegionalDroughtMonitor.aspx?northeast

http://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2016/07/24/west-coast-style-weather-strikes-northeastern-us

 

[sportbikerider78]

I'm loving the drought. No more mowing the lawn all the time.

 

[Jags]

I know where your missing rain is....

 

[Lake Girl]

SNOWY - Jags loses again.

Me too So what they're saying is a normal year here...

 

[begreen]

Dry here and no rain in sight. The lawn has been crunchy since mid-July, though I still have to mow the dandelions on occasion.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Last winter tied 1 other year for the lowest fuel use in the 28 years im living in the same house. 3 Ton solid fuel. Highest years were 6 to 7 ton. Quite a difference. I have to say adding insulation and air sealing from time to time helps a great deal as well.

 

[BrotherBart]

With the Almanac's record for accuracy this tells me to lay in more wood in the shed, service the snow plow and get the long john's patched.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Too bad we cant store this scorching heat wave and open it back up in the middle of winter.

 

[firefighterjake]

After the Winter is over I always forget to look back and see what the Farmer's Almanac and Old Farmer's Almanac predicted to see just how accurate or inaccurate they were . . .

Then again I always figure to lay in enough wood and supplies for a long winter regardless of predictions . . . that way I'm all set regardless.

 

[jharkin]

We are now 8 inches below normal rainfall for the year. The latest from the Sunday paper is that they are warning residents to start watching their trees- reports of older (75+) and already stressed trees dying without warning. Leaves are starting to fall and my fence and mailbox feel loose because the soil is so dry.

A number of towns - mostly in the red area have now gone to third level water restrictions - no outside watering period, not even hand watering.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Seems rainfall is getting more erratic and unpredictable as the climate heats up. Some areas getting none and others getting way too much all at once. Every week, devastating floods somewhere from torrential rainfall.

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

View attachment 182967

We are now 8 inches below normal rainfall for the year. The latest from the Sunday paper is that they are warning residents to start watching their trees- reports of older (75+) and already stressed trees dying without warning. Leaves are starting to fall and my fence and mailbox feel loose because the soil is so dry.

A number of towns - mostly in the red area have now gone to third level water restrictions - no outside watering period, not even hand watering.

I'm in that red section. So far we're not subject to anything too draconian yet. It seems the last week or so we've gotten back to a normal summer with thunderstorms every few days dropping about 0.5 inches per week.

It has been tough on the trees. There's a lot of big old ones failing. I had a huge section of an oak fall off in my yard - it's an old tree but I'm sure the drought didn't help. Tree companies around here have been swamped. I have one that I like but I had to go to one a few towns over since my first choice was booking 3 months out and only doing estimates for emergency work.

 

[sportbikerider78]

So whats this about? Do they report less snow and more snow and cold all at the same time?
http://farmersalmanac.com/weather-outlook/2017-winter-forecast/