New Long-Range Connecticut Winter Forecast Released, And It's Not Good

Better start shopping for that new snow shovel. AccuWeather reports it will feel like an extended winter for Connecticut as cold and snowy conditions stretch into spring 2017.

Frequent storms across the northeastern U.S. this winter may lead to an above-normal season for snowfall.

"I think the Northeast is going to see more than just a few, maybe several, systems in the course of the season," AccuWeather Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said in a news release.

Unlike last season, in which most of winter's snowfall came from a few heavy-hitting storms, this winter will last into the early or middle part of spring and will feature frequent snow events, AccuWeather reports in its long-range forecast.

Pastelok said areas south of New York City will still see several systems this winter but it may be more of a mixed precipitation.

"But still, Boston, Hartford, along the coastal areas up into Connecticut and southern New England, they can still have a fair amount of snow," he said.

The Farmers’ Almanac also supports AccuWeather’s outlook for a snowy winter too.

The front of its website it begins with this ominous message: “While last winter was a reprieve from shoveling and high fuel bills, the party is over. According to the 2017 Farmers’ Almanac, 'winter is back!'”

Specifically for the northeast, the almanac says to expect an “ice cold and snow filled” winter. It pinpoints February as the worst month for both freezing temps and several snow chances, and the Farmers’ Almanac states it’s time to “get the snowblower ready” this winter.

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Overall, it's predicted that the region will total a below-normal number of subzero days, though the temperature will average 3-5 degrees Fahrenheit lower than last year, AccuWeather reports.

For those who already forgot about last year’s winter in Connecticut it was mainly contained to a one-month period from mid-January to mid-February when we saw a couple of major snowstorms including a blizzard and some record-breaking wind chills.

But beyond that, it was relatively warm, except for April which was quite cold as last spring was slow in arriving.

View the Farmers’ Almanac website here.

View the Accuweather.com long-range forecast here.

Written by Tom Davis and Brian McCready, Patch Staff

Patch file photo