Farmers' Almanac Releases Winter 2018 Forecast For Texas

AUSTIN, TX — The Farmer's Almanac has released its long-range predictions for winter 2018. Suffice it to say, forecasters for the venerable publication categorize the latter parts of the year in Texas as "The Wild."

This is as opposed to "The Cold" in the eastern and central parts of the country and "The Dry" in the western third of the country. By next year's winter, we here in Texas will get mildness interrupted by moments of sogginess, the guide's authors write.

"And for parts of the western Great Lakes, eastern Great Plains, and points south, including Arklatexoma (where Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma abut), be prepared for wide swings in the weather pendulum, from very warm to very cold, and periods of tranquil conditions mixed with occasional spells of tempestuous weather."

So, pretty much what we Texans have always endured: Mercurial, unpredictable weather. But it achieves a certain level of gravitas in the newly released Almanac, a publication founded by Benjamin Franklin back in the day. According to the Farmer's Almanac, this is the forecast in Texas for the next three months:

AUGUST 2017

• 24th-27th: Thunderstorms; heavy to severe activity for New Mexico, Texas, and Arkansas. [Could they be predicting rain resulting from the trajectory of a reconstituted Tropical Storm Harvey?]
• 28th-31st: Mostly fair skies return.

SEPTEMBER 2017

• 1st-3rd: Scattered showers, especially for Texas, then partial clearing.
• 4th-7th: Fair Oklahoma/Texas and points east; weather deteriorates to the west with squalls over Northern New Mexico. Hurricane threat along the Gulf Coast.
• 8th-11th: Heavy thunderstorms Texas and Gulf Coast followed by clearing skies.
• 12th-15th: Mostly fair skies; increasing clouds for Colorado by the 15th.
• 16th-19th: Rainy, then fair/cooler.
• 20th-23rd: Dangerous thunderstorms race rapidly east; possible tornado activity for Oklahoma.
• 24th-27th: Squalls over Texas move east followed by fair, brisk weather.
• 28th-30th: Unsettled.

OCTOBER 2017

• 1st-3rd: Fair weather.
• 4th-7th: Stormy with some wet snow and flurries over the higher-terrain areas.
• 8th-11th: Mostly fair/cold.
• 12th-15th: Unsettled followed by clearing skies.
• 16th-19th: Heavy rain spreads from the Southern Great Plains into the Mississippi River Valley.

So how accurate is the Farmer's Almanac? Its authors tick off a list of predictions that came through dating to 1954. During 2016, many of its predictions came true, the almanac's forecasters wrote:

• "Winter 2016: The Farmers’ Almanac predicted that a storm would move along the Appalachian Trail in the February 24-29 time frame. Sure enough, on the 24th, a moderately strong storm was centered near Paducah, Kentucky and slid northeast to near the border of New York and Quebec by the following day."
• "This same system brought snow and wind to the Great Lakes and Midwest. Our readers in Ohio sent us thank you emails on February 25th when our forecast for February 24-29th called for 'Becoming stormy with snow.' "
• "And who can forget the snowstorms in Colorado? We said that on March 24 – 27, a “major storm evolves over the southern Rockies,” and while a day early, on March 23rd, folks in Colorado woke up to a major storm with areas getting 1 to 2 feet, some areas received almost 3 feet (and their local weather called for 3 inches). We got emails thanking us for helping people prepare for this one!"

In citing their first example from 1954, authors write about their prescient prediction then: "In 1954, Farmers’ Almanac warned readers of a rare major hurricane in the Northeast. That storm turned out to be Hurricane Carol, one of the worst tropical cyclones ever to touch down in New England."

So it might be best not to disregard the Farmer's Almanac predictions. Since old Ben's time, they have an uncanny way of being right.

Click here to read the full long-range forecast by the Farmers’ Almanac.

>>> Photo of haboob dust storm in Texas by Leaflet via Wikimedia Commons, mainly because we wanted to type the word "haboob." A haboob is a gust-front dust cloud