Farmers’ Almanac 2018 Winter Forecast Released For Metro Detroit

After mild winters the last couple of years, Michigan is expected to have cold, snowy weather in the winter of 2017-2018, according to the early, early seasonal forecast from the Farmers’ Almanac, which proclaims, “Cold conditions are back!”

The Farmers’ Almanac — don’t confuse this with the better known Old Farmer’s Almanac, which is important for reasons we will get to in a bit — says its 200-year-old formula indicates the upcoming winter will be a bit more “normal,” with colder temperatures east of the Rocky Mountains. Many areas are expected have higher-than-normal precipitation under that formula.

From the Great Lakes into the Northeast, snowier-than-normal conditions are expected, which would be very good news for Michigan’s winter tourism industry, which adds about 11,000 jobs and $638 million to the economy.

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Parts of the western Great Lakes, eastern Great Plains and points as far south as Louisiana and Oklahoma should be prepared for “wild swings in the weather pendulum, from very warm to very cold, and periods of tranquil conditions mixed with occasional spells of tempestuous weather.”

The 200-year-old formula the Farmers’ Almanac uses to arrive at the long--range forecasts is based on the moon and its motions.

“The Moon has a proven influence on the tides,and it is our belief that it may have effects on the atmosphere as well,” said Caleb Weatherbee, the official weather prognosticator for the publication. “Ocean tides can be accurately predicted, so part of our formula relies on the belief that we can line up certain weather patterns with a specific position of the moon in its orbit.”

The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the publication founded in 1792, paints an opposite picture for the Lower Great Lakes Region with a 2017-2018 winter forecast that calls for warmer-than-normal temperatures and slightly above-normal precipitation.

The coldest periods are expected in early to mid-December, early January and mid-February. Snowfall will be above normal in Ohio, but below normal elsewhere, with the snowiest periods in early to mid-December, late December, early January and early February.

(AP Photo/Don Ryan)