Day: October 22, 2018

I don’t know about where you live, but here in Chicago we had frost almost every morning last week.  And yesterday?  It was 24 degrees when I got up!  So we’ve had our official first hard freeze of the season and I’d like to point out that the Farmer’s Almanac lied to me.  According to the Farmer’s Almanac, Chicago wasn’t supposed to have first frost until October 29th.   They get themselves off the hook for their tragically wrong date by saying it’s only a 30% probability of being correct.  Go figure.

So since the Almanac is off to a roaring start with their winter predictions, I looked to see what they say about the rest of the winter for the Midwest.  Brace yourself – the word is  “teeth-chattering cold with plenty of snow.”  Yay?

So I went in search of more optimistic forecasts and here’s what I found:

• The Weather Channel – They seem a bit more hopeful for slightly higher than normal temperatures and below normal snowfall here in my neighborhood.
• NOAA.GOV – They seem to agree with the Weather Channel showing slightly higher chances of a mild/dry winter for Chicagoland.
• AccuWeather – They specifically call out some shots of cold weather but below normal snowfall for Chicago.

So who will be right – The Farmer’s Almanac or the meteorologists at our biggest weather services?  Only time will tell.  In the meantime, I’m getting out my winter clothes!