Cindy_Fitzgibbon's Blog

You know that here at FOX25 we're in the business of making five-day forecasts, not five-month forecasts. If you're looking for seasonal outlooks, there are, of course, meteorologists who specialize in making long range forecasts. One of those agencies is our government, The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center, and they update these forecasts on a monthly basis.

The official winter outlook from the CPC is calling for ABOVE normal temps and normal precipitation here in the Northeast and across much of the country for Dec., Jan. and Feb. Here's a link:

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long
_range/seasonal.php?lead=4

Another group of scientists known for their long range predictions is, of course, the Farmers Almanac. They have just come out with their winter forecast and are calling for BELOW average temps across a good part of the country and lots of snow from the Midwest to the Northeast, especially in February. Here is a link to their forecast:

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather
/a/could-this-winters-weather-add-to-economic-woes<
/p>

The almanac cited here is not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer's Almanac (which is 26 years older). The Old Farmers Almanac claims to use a secret formula based on sunspots, the position of the planets and the tidal action of the moon. Here is a link: http://www.almanac.com.

What do I think? Well, as I mentioned in a blog in the past week or so, there does continue to be a larger than normal build-up of cold air and ice in the arctic, and that, combined with lingering La Nina to neutral ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) conditions, may contribute to a colder and snowier winter. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

-Cindy