Old Farmer's Almanac Winter 2020-21 Predictions For Connecticut

CONNECTICUT — If you assumed the United States is in for a terrible winter with below-freezing temperatures and apocalyptic amounts of snow for no other reason except it's 2020, we wouldn’t blame you.

However, you might also be jumping to conclusions.

The Old Farmer's Almanac — not to be confused with its rival forecast predictor, Farmers' Almanac — just released its highly anticipated predictions for winter 2020-21. Blame it on forecaster optimism or Mother Nature throwing our disaster-weary souls a bone, but most of us are actually in for a reprieve from harsh winter weather this year.

The centuries-old forecaster is predicting a light winter for most of the United States, with warmer-than-normal temperatures expected for a large part of the country.

Connecticut is excluded from the promising forecast. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts our state can expect "sheets of sleet," with a higher than normal snowfall. Uncommonly chilly temperatures are predicted in far northeastern New England, as well as western states.

Rain or snowfall that is average to below average will be the standard throughout most of the country, while snowfall will be greater than normal only in the Northeast, Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, the High Plains and northern Alaska.

What’s shaping this year’s weather? Forecasters attribute this year's prediction to rising temperature trends across the world.

The Old Farmer's Almanac, founded in 1792, is the oldest continuously published periodical in North America, according to its website. In fact, the almanac has released weather predictions since George Washington was president.

Each year, the authors of the Almanac go back to see just how accurate their predictions were for the previous year. When it comes to the 2019-20 winter season, they found that they were 80.5 percent accurate, which is just above their typical 80 percent.