Old Farmer's Almanac Issues Winter 2020 Forecast For NJ

NEW JERSEY – You can look forward to a mild winter with less snow than normal in New Jersey this year – at least if you believe predictions from the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The centuries-old forecaster is saying New Jersey can expect a "wet-and-wild" winer, one that will avoid a deep freeze. Indeed, even though it's going to rain, much of that precipitation won't be ice (see forecast below).

So far, the Old Farmer's Almanac has been reliable, predicting a major hurricane for the Floria-North Carolina coast in September. That weather system could very well have been Hurricane Dorian.

"Winter temperatures will be much above normal, on average, with the coolest periods in mid- and late-January. Precipitation will be above-normal, with below average snowfall. The snowiest period will occur in mid- and late-January and early February," the almanac says.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac offered a different outlook from its rival forecast predictor, the Farmer’s Almanac. Followers of the Old Farmer’s Almanac in the Northeast are bracing for a “Wet & Wild” winter 2019-20, whereas devotees of the Farmers’ Almanac are preparing for a “Frosty, Wet & White” winter season.

Read more: Farmers' Almanac: NJ Winter Forecast Drearier Than Usual

The Farmer's Almanac doesn't use satellite data or other methods to make its predictions, but rather a secret mathematical and astronomical formula based on things like the moon's pull on the atmosphere, for example.

But it does brag about an 80 percent accuracy record. Last year, it predicted a mild winter with less snow in New Jersey. And, guess what: That forecast was correct.

"The formula takes things like sunspot activity, tidal action of the Moon, position of the planets, and a variety of other factors into consideration," according to the Almanac's website.

"The only person who knows the exact formula is the Farmers' Almanac weather prognosticator who goes by the pseudonym of Caleb Weatherbee. To protect this proprietary and reliable formula, the editors of the Farmers' Almanac prefer to keep both Caleb's true identity and the formula a closely guarded brand secret."

Here is what the almanac specifically expects for New Jersey:

November

• 5-10 Showers, warm
• 17-23 Rain to wet snow, then sunny, cold.

December

• 8-13 Heavy rain, then sunny, cool.
• 24-27: Rain and snow, then sunny, mild.
• 28-31: Rain and wet snow, mild.

January

• 6-10: Rain to snow, then sunny, cold.
• 11-18: Rain to snow, then sunny, cold.
• 24-28: Snow showers, cold.
• 29-31: Snow north, rain south.

February

• 1-7: Snow north, rain south, then sunny, cold.
• 8-13: Rainy periods, mild.

March

• 1-8: Periods of rain and snow, chilly.
• 28-31: Rain and snow north, sunny south; cool

In some parts of the U.S., frigid frosty, and icky conditions will last into the spring. “This could feel like the never-ending winter, particularly in the Midwest and east to the Ohio Valley and Appalachians,” said Almanac editor Janice Stillman.

A collection of states will escape the long winter though, as Florida, the Gulf Coast and Texas will have mostly pleasant weather for the entirety of the season.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac is North America’s oldest continuously published periodical, according to their website. The organization is based in New Hampshire, and its mission statement remains:

“Our main endeavor is to be useful, but with a pleasant degree of humor.”