Winter Forecast is Here — And Sobering

We interrupt this sweltering August stretch to bring you some sobering news: It's going to be cold this winter.

That bold prediction is courtesy of the 2017 Farmers' Almanac. The most recent edition predicts an "Ice Cold & Snow Filled" winter, defined as January-March of 2017. It's difficult to say whether that's any worse than "Numbing Cold" in the Great Lakes region, "Freezing Cold" in the Midwest or "Penetrating Cold" in the Southeast, but it shouldn't alter anyone's plans too much.

• Related: 90-Day Weather Forecast? 95% Chance Of Bunk

Long-range weather forecasts seem to be all (or incite all) the rage.

AccuWeather continues to roll out its 90-day forecast, assuring people will be very disappointed when they schedule weddings and vacations based on how the weather will be exactly two months from next Thursday.

But long before AccuWeather was making guesses months in advance, the Farmers' Almanac had the market cornered. And it's latest 2017 edition spells out the usual icy doom and freezing gloom for New Englanders this winter.

We won't give away the forecast of every few days — you can purchase that at farmersalmanac.com — but you may want to be wary of a couple feet of snow the week of Feb. 16 and a wet St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The Old Farmers' Almanac online predictions call for a slightly warmer beginning to 2017, with more precipitation than usual coming in February.

Photo by David Maroney