Old Farmer's Almanac Issues Pittsburgh Winter Forecast

PITTSBURGH, PA — If the Old Farmer's Almanac prognosticators are correct, prepare to bundle up and keep that snow shovel handy.

The publication is releasing its national winter forecast on a daily region-by-region basis and on Monday offered its prediction for the Ohio Valley, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and West Virginia. If you're a fan of mild, dry winters, you are going to be disappointed.

The Old Farmer's Almanac believes that although the Central and Northeastern United States will be mainly dry, the Ohio Valley will not.

The Ohio Valley is expected to experience above-normal snowfall except for the furthest eastern areas, which will see below-normal amounts. The snowiest periods are forecast to be in late December, from late January into early February, in late February, and mid-March.

The Old Farmer's Alamanc also posits that winter will be colder than normal - especially in February, when temperatures will be four degrees below average for the month. Winter's coldest blasts will come in late January through early February, and then again in late February.

The Old Farmer's Almanac is not to be confused with the Farmers' Almanac, a competing publication that offered its own winter forecast earlier this month.

The Old Farmer's Almanac says it predicts weather trends and events by comparing solar patterns and historical weather conditions with current solar activity. It looks at normals or averages over decades, not just how the weather compared to last year.

For the 2024-2025 winter season, its forecasts are based on the latest period, 1991 through 2020.