IL Winter Predictions From Old Farmer's Almanac

ILLINOIS — If you assumed the United States is in for a terrible winter with below-freezing temperatures and apocalyptic amounts of snow for no other reason except it’s 2020, we wouldn’t blame you.

However, you might also be jumping to conclusions.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac — not to be confused with its rival forecast predictor, Farmers’ Almanac — just released its highly anticipated predictions for winter 2020-21. Blame it on forecaster optimism or Mother Nature throwing our disaster-weary souls a bone, but most of us are actually in for a reprieve from harsh winter weather this year.

The centuries-old forecaster is predicting a light winter for most of the United States, with warmer-than-normal temperatures expected for a large part of the country.

Illinois is included in the promising forecast. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts northern Illinois and the Chicago area can expect "more wet than white" weather this winter. For the Chicago area, snowfall will be below normal, with the snowiest periods in early and mid-December, mid- to late-February, and early to mid-March, the almanac said. Temperatures are expected to be "much above normal" despite cold periods in December and January.

Far western Illinois and southern Illinois are likely in for weather that's "not so cold, not too wet" with mild temperatures and below normal snowfall, the almanac predicts.

Not every state will experience ideal winter weather, forecasters say, though affected areas are limited. Uncommonly chilly temperatures are predicted in Western states and far northeastern New England.

On the precipitation side of things, expect “wet” to be a wintertime constant. Rain or snowfall that is average to below average will be the standard throughout most of the country, while snowfall will be greater than normal in the Northeast, Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, the High Plains and northern Alaska.

What’s shaping this year’s weather? Forecasters attribute this year’s prediction to rising temperature trends across the world.

The Old Farmer's Almanac, founded in 1792, is the oldest continuously published periodical in North America, according to its website. In fact, the almanac has released weather predictions since George Washington was president.

Each year, the authors of the Almanac go back to see just how accurate their predictions were for the previous year. When it comes to the 2019-20 winter season, they found that they were 80.5 percent accurate, which is just above their typical 80 percent.