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We all like to discuss our weather, but it seems we are especially chatty about it during these long cold winter months. Since I have a Farmer's almanac on hand, I thought I would share the predictions made for each of the sixteen regions, but first I thought I'd start off with a bit of history on The Old Farmer's Almanac.
The premiere issue of the Almanac was the 1793 edition published in 1792 during George Washington's first term as president. Under the competent hand of editor, Robert B. Thomas the almanac became an immediate success despite there being other almanacs published around the same time. By the second year the circulation tripled from 3,000 to 9,000 and it sold for six pence (about nine cents).
It is generally accepted that the uncanny accuracy of editor Thomas' secret weather forecasting formula (a formula that even today is kept safely tucked away in a black tin box at the Almanac offices in Dublin, New Hampshire), said to be 80% accurate, was what set The Old Farmer's Almanac apart from the other competitors in the field.
Thomas's last edition, in 1846, was not much different from his first, over 50 years earlier. However, in that time he established The Old Farmer's Almanac as America's leading periodical by outselling and outlasting the competition. He died in 1846 at the age of 80, supposedly reading page proofs for the 1847 edition.
Today, Janice Stillman is the 13th and first female editor of the almanac and she still maintains the style established by her predecessors.
You can watch a documentary video to learn more about the almanac's history, origins and odd moments along its path to North America's most popular reference book.
The Old Farmers Almanac's Weather Map for the 16 continental US regions
This
link will take you to a larger map and a page listing each state, or portion of a state, in each of the regions. For example, Connecticut is split into regions 1 and 2.
REGION 1 Northeast: Winter will be colder and drier than normal, with below-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be from Christmas through early January and in mid-January and early, mid-, and late February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-November to late December, mid- to late February and early March.
Jan 2013: Temp 22° (1° below average); precip 2.5" (0.5" below average) 1-6 Snow showers, then sunny, bitter cold. 7-11 Snow, then flurries, cold. 12-15 Snow north, showers south; mild. 16-18 Snow, then sunny, cold. 19-22 Snow, then rainy, mild. 23-24 Snow north, rain south. 25-28 Rainy, mild. 29-31 Snow showers, seasonable.
REGION 2 Atlantic Corridor: Winter will be colder and drier than normal, with snowfall below normal in the north and near normal in the south. The coldest periods will be just before Christmas and in mid-to late February.
Jan 2013: Temp 35° (average); precip 2.5" (1" below average) 1-5 Snow showers, then sunny, very cold. 6-10 Snow to rain, then sunny, cold. 11-15 Sunny, mild. 16-20 Rain to snow, then sunny, seasonable. 21-27 Rainy periods, mild. 28-31 Sunny, seasonable.
REGION 3 Appalachians: Winter will be colder and drier than normal. The coldest periods will be from late December through early January and in early and m id-February. Snowfall will be below normal in the north and above normal in the south, with the snowiest periods in mid- to late- December and early January.
Jan 2013: Temp 30° (average); precip 3" (average) 1-5 Snow showers, very cold. 6-15 Snowstorm, then sunny, turning mild. 16-20 Snow, then sunny, cold. 21-27 A few showers, mild. 28-31 Sunny, seasonable.
REGION 4 Southeast: Winter temperatures will be below normal, with below-normal rainfall and near- or above-normal snowfall. The coldest periods willbe in early January and early and mid-February. The greatest snow and ice threats will be in late December, early and mid-January, and early and mid-February.
Jan 2013: Temp 43° (2° below average); precip 2.5" (2" below average) 1-6 Rainy periods, snow at times, cold. 7-15 Sunny; cold, then mild. 16-18 Rain to snow. 19-22 Sunny, turning mild. 23-26 Showers, mild. 27-31 Sunny, cold.
REGION 5 Florida: Winter will be colder and drier than normal, with the best chance for snow in the north in mid-February. The coldest temperatures will occur in mid-December, early and mid-January, and early February.
Jan 2013: Temp 59° (1° below average); precip 2" (2" below average north, 1" above south) 1-10 T-storms then sunny, cool. 11-15 Sunny north, showers south; seasonable. 16-20 Showers, then sunny, cool. 21-25 Sunny, warm. 26-31 T-storms, then sunny, cool.
REGION 6 Lower Lakes: Winter will be colder than normal in the east, with above-normal temperatures in the west. The coldest periods will be from late December through early January and in mid-January and early and mid-February. Precipitation and snowfall will generally be below normal, with the snowiest periods in early to mid-November, early January and early March.
Jan 2013: Temp 30° (0.5° below average east, 6° above west); precip 2.5" (0.5" below average east, 1" above west) 1-5 Snow showers, cold. 6-9 Snowstorm, then flurries, cold. 10-15 A shower, mild 16-19 Snow showers, cold. 20-26 Showers, mild. 27-31 Sunny, then snow showers, mild.
REGION 7 Ohio Valley: Winter will be colder and drier than normal, with above-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be from late December through early January and in early and mid-February. The snowiest periods will occur in mid-to late November, mid-to late December, and early to mid-January.
Jan 2013: Temp 34° (1° below average east, 3° above west) precip 2" (1" below average). 1-5 Snow showers, cold. 6-9 Snowstorm, then flurries, cold. 10-15 Sunny, mild. 16-19 Snow, then sunny, cold. 20-26 Rainy periods, mild. 27-31 Sunny, seasonable.
REGION 8 Deep South: Winter will be much colder and drier than normal, with the coldest periods in mid-to late December, early January, and early February. Snowfall will be near to above normal, with the snowiest periods in the north in mid-to late December, early January, and mid-March, and the best chance for snow in the south in mid-February.
Jan 2013: Temp 45° (1° above average north, 1° below south) precip 3" (2" below average). 1-4 Rainy, cool. 5-10 Rain and snow, then sunny, cold. 11-14 Sunny, turning warm. 15-18 T-storms, then sunny, cold. 19-26 Sunny, then t-storms, warm 27-31 Sunny, cool.
REGION 9 Upper Midwest: Winter temperatures will be avove normal on average, with below-normal precipitation and snowfall in most of the region. The coldest periods will be in late December and in early and mid-February. The snowiest periods will occur in mid-December, early January and late March.
Jan 2013: Temp 20° (7° above average) precip 0.5" (0.5" below average). 1-3 Snow showers, cold. 4-14 Snow, then sunny, quite mild. 15-16 Snow showers, colder. 17-31 Snow showers, mild.
REGION 10 Heartland: Winter temperatures will be higher than normal, on average, with precipitation and snowfall near normal in the east and below normal in the west. The coldest periods will be in late December, early January, and early and mid-February. The snowiest periods will be in mid- to late December, early January, and early March.
Jan 2013: Temperature 35° (6° above average); precip 2" (1" above average). 1-3 Flurries, cold. 4-9 Snow, then sunny, cold. 10-15 Sunny, mild. 16-20 Flurries, then sunny, mild. 21-29 Rainy periods, then sunny, mild. 30-31 Showers, colder.
REGION 11 Texas-Oklahoma: Winter temperatures will be slightly colder than normal, on average, with precipitation and snowfall near or a bit above normal. The coldest periods will occur in late December and early January and through much of February. The snowiest periods will be in early to mid-February and early March.
Jan 2013: Temperature 50° (4° above average north, 2° below south); precip 4" (2" above average). 1-9 Rain and wet snow, then sunny, cold. 10-15 Rain and t-storms, mild. 16-19 Sunny, turning warm. 20-25 Occasional rain, warm. 26-31 Sunny, turning cold.
REGION 12 High Plains: Winter temperatures will be 1 to 3 degrees above normal, on average, with slightly above-normal rainfall and below-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will occur in early to mid-December, late December, and early and mid-February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-December, early February, and early March.
Jan 2013: Temperature 34° (6° above avereage); precip 1" (average north, 1" above south). 1-5 Snow showers, cold. 6-13 Sunny, quite mild. 14-18 Rain, then sunny, mild. 19-22 Snow, cold north; sunny, mild south. 23-31 Rain and snow showers, then sunny, mild.
REGION 13 Intermountain: Winter temperatures will be above normal in the north and slightly below normal in the south, with the coldest periods in early to mid-December, late December, and mid- to late January. Precipitation will be below normal in the north and above normal elsewhere. The snowiest periods will occur in mid- to late November, early to mid-December, mid- to late January, and early and mid-March.
Jan 2013: Temperature 32.5° (3° above average north, 2° below south); precip. 1" (0.5" below average). 1-17 Rain and snow shwers, mild north; sunny, cold south. 18-21 Snow showers, cold north; snowstorm south. 22-27 Snow, then rainy periods, mild north; showers, then sunny, cold south. 28-31 Sunny, mild.
REGION 14 Desert Southwest: Winter willb e cooler and wetter than nmormal, wiht near- to above-average snowfall. The coldest periods will occur in eary and mid-December and late February. The snowiest periods will occur in early to mid-December and early to mid-February.
Jan 2013: Temperature 47° (1° below average); precip. 0.2" (0.3" below average). 1-11 Snow showers, then sunny east; sunny west; cool. 12-18 Snow showers then sunny, cool east; sunny, mild west. 19-24 Showers, then sunny, mild. 25-31 Sunny; cool east, mild west.
REGION 15 Pacific Northwest: Winter temperatures will be a couple of degrees above normal, on average, with the coldest periods in early to mid-December, loate December, and mid- to late January. Rainfall will be below normal, while snowfall will be near normal. The snowiest periods will come in early to mid-January, late January, and mid-February.
Jan 2013: Temperature 45° (2° above average) precip 8" (2" above average). 1-4 Rain to snow, cool. 5-14 Rain, heavy at times, mild. 15-17 Misty, mild. 18-23 Snowy periods, cold. 24-28 Stormy, mild. 29-31 Sunny, cool, then mild.
REGION 16 Pacific Southwest: Winter temperatures will be above normal, on average, with the coldest periods in mid-and late December and mid-to late January. Rainfall will be a bit below normal in the Bay Area and above normal elsewhere. The stormiest periods will be in mid-November, mid-to late January, and early March. Mountain snowfall will be near to below normal, with the heaviest snows in mid-to late January.
Jan 2013: Temperature 55° (1° above average) precip. 3" (1" above averege north, 1.5" below south). 1-5 T-storms, then sunny, mild. 6-9 Rain north; sunny, then showers south; cool. 10-18 Sunny, warm. 19-24 Rain and t-storms, chilly. 25-31 Clouds and drizzle north, sunny south; mild.