Winter Forecast For Ohio 2019-20: Official Government Prediction

CLEVELAND — Winter is coming. Even as holidays begin to approach, forecasting agencies are still releasing their predictions for the upcoming winter in Ohio. The latest to enter long-range forecasting fray is the federal government.

Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have released a winter forecast for 2019-20 that’s predicting a wet but warm winter season for Ohio. That doesn't mean Buckeye State residents should start celebrating though. Plenty of snow could still be inbound.

The government organization stays away from projecting seasonal snowfall accumulations as snow forecasts are generally impossible to predict until the week prior. However, even during a warmer than usual winter in Ohio periods of cold and snowfall are still possible.

Not a single section of the United States is expected to have colder than usual temperatures this winter, but some areas will experience more precipitation, including Ohio.

“Wetter than average conditions are most likely in Alaska and Hawaii this winter, along with portions of the Northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, the Great Lakes and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast,” the agency said in it 2019-20 winter forecast, which it released Thursday.

What do The Farmers’ Almanac and Old Farmer’s Almanac predict for the winter?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration isn’t the only organization that’s released a 2019-20 prediction, but consensus can be hard to find when it comes to weather.

Followers of the Farmers’ Almanac for instance, are bracing for a snowy, bone-chilling season. Meanwhile, forecasters at the rival Old Farmer’s Almanac are predicting more rain than snow.

The two meteorological publishers have almost identical names, but their long-range forecasts could not be more different.

The 2020 Farmers' Almanac's extended weather forecast is calling for a "Polar Coaster Winter," with plenty of frigid temperatures and snow for a majority of the country, including Ohio and all of the Great Lakes region.

"This could feel like the never-ending winter, particularly in the Midwest and east to the Ohio Valley and Appalachians, where wintery weather will last well into March and even through the first days of spring," said Old Farmer's Almanac editor Janice Stillman.