It’s time for predictions of weather to come

Farmers’ Almanac has been forecasting the nation’s winters for more than 100 years—since 1818 as a matter of fact.
Winter 2021 will be a flip-flop winter, with cold through December, with a mild January, February’s suppose to be relatively storm free, with major snows hitting us in March.
Specifically, the Almanac is predicting a cold and snowy winter for Minnesota and much of the North Central United States. Okay, but that’s normal for the Gopher state isn’t it?
“...the outlook gives Minnesota and the North Central U.S. a winter title of ‘Numb’s the Word, Just Shovelin’ Along.’”
Other than a catchy phrase, the Almanac is describing a normal winter here in the Frozen Tundra.
It does say that the winter cool down starts out slowly. January is suppose to be mild in the early days of the month, but the Arctic blasts from the polar north begin to drift south over the state.
Farmers Almanac forecasters are putting the word out that to travel Jan. 20-23 would be miserable because their folks are saying: “a blizzard could also make travel conditions difficult for the North Central states.”
As we move into February, the weather patterns should calm down for most of the country. (I guess that includes Minnesota.)
“March will be the manifestation of the flip-flop winter with plenty of stretches of uneventful weather and large doses of stormy precipitation.”
Every Norwegian who’s lived in our neck of the woods will shrug and say “Uffda!”
Okay, now that we have the best guess as to what we can expect this winter, the folks over at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration isn’t quite ready to give its scientifically based winter predictions for the 2021-22 winter months. (They base their predictions on satellite imagery, historic date and a quick read of the Farmers’ Almanac.)
Just kidding.
As per NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) “... November-January has equal chances of below normal or above normal temperatures and precipitation for Minnesota. And the same goes for December-February, though the long-range outlook does suggest a slight chance of above normal precipitation January-March.
Snowfall in southern Minnesota over the past two winters has had below normal snowfall.
As a parting thought, one should dig out the warm coats, scarves, SmartWool winter hats and socks, choppers and UGG boots just in case NOAA and the Almanac are correct in their predictions of a cold, snowy winter.
WEATHER
“A great, great deal has been said about the weather, but very little has ever been done.”
Mark Twain