Soggy Winter Ahead For Carolinas: AccuWeather

CHARLOTTE, NC — If you had plans to pick up a new snow shovel this year, you might want to buy an umbrella instead. That’s according to a new long-term weather prediction from the folks at Accuweather.com, who say the southeast has a soggy winter — and not necessarily one that includes snow — to look forward to this year.

AccuWeather long-range forecaster Paul Pastelok says that fall will remain relatively warm except for a few cold spells and winter's chill won't set in until at least the end of 2019.

In the southeast, winter will likely be a wet couple of months, with warmer than normal water temperatures from the Gulf of Mexico to the mid-Atlantic coasts, he said. That warm water could kick start “a significant amount of rain,” according to Pastelok’s prediction.

“However, it’s not out of the question that the region could experience a winter storm, similar to last season, which brings snow or ice to areas like Winston-Salem, Charlotte or Asheville,” he said.

What Do The Farmers' Almanac And Old Farmer's Almanac Predict For Winter?
Followers of the Farmers' Almanac are bracing for a cold winter with increased winter precipitation, while the Old Farmer's Almanac's devotees are shunning snow blowers and taking out umbrellas.

The two meteorologic publishers may have almost identical names, but their long-range forecasts are like night and day.

The Farmers' Almanac, which released its prediction on Aug. 26, expects a “brisk and wet” winter, with the frostiest snap coming during the last week of January and stretching into February. Winter weather will last into April.

But the Old Farmer's Almanac, which unveiled its forecast in September, expects the southeast to be mild and wet.

Read Accuweather's full winter 2019-20 prediction here.

Patch Editor Deb Belt contributed.