Farmers' Almanac, Old Farmer's Almanac Assess MD Winter 2021

MARYLAND — Because you can never have too many long-range winter forecasts when summer is still sizzling hot in many places across America, the Farmers' Almanac has released its long-range 2021 winter forecast for Maryland.

The Farmers’ Almanac calls its forecast the “winter of the Great Divide” with “cold and snowy conditions in the North, drought in the West and everything crazy in between.”

Here in Maryland, we’re in for a “winter wild card,” the publications says. Areas around the Tennessee and lower Ohio River valleys, north, and east up through New England will see a mix of intense weather systems that will keep delivering a wintry mix of rainy, icy and/or snowy weather throughout the season.

Wait, you may be thinking, didn’t I just read this? No. That was the Old Farmer’s Almanac 2021 winter forecast.

Here's what the Farmers' Almanac predicts for Maryland and other Mid-Atlantic states:

"Remember last year’s almost snow-free winter in the Northeast? Well, this year our prediction is very different, with the possibility of a blizzard hitting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states during the second week of February. This storm may bring up to 1-2 feet of snow to cities from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts!"

The winter could shape up to be seasonably cold, wet and white, the publication said.

Rival the Old Farmer's Almanac calls for "a light winter for most of us here in the United States, with warmer-than-normal temperatures in the forecast for a large part of the country."

It predicts Maryland will see "sheets of sleet" in the upcoming season.

Here's what the Old Farmer's Almanac predicts for Maryland and other Mid-Atlantic states:

"Precipitation will be below normal from Delmarva into North Carolina; in the southern Appalachians, Georgia, and Florida from the Ohio Valley westward to the Pacific and southward to the Gulf and Mexico; and in western Hawaii and above or near normal elsewhere. Snowfall will be greater than normal in the Northeast, Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, the High Plains, and northern Alaska and below normal in most other areas that receive snow."

Any confusion about the two sources is completely understandable. Both are compendiums of useful information about the weather, gardening and just grooving on nature in general. And though the Old Farmer’s Almanac, established in 1792, is the oldest of the two, the Farmers’ Almanac is no first bloom of spring. It’s been around since 1818.

Both publications claim about 80 percent accuracy in winter forecasts over the 200 years they’ve been peering into looking glasses that rely on different measurements that are somewhat mysterious.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecast was originally based on a still-secret formula developed by founder Robert B. Thomas of Dublin, New Hampshire. Thomas believed magnetic solar storms influenced the Earth’s weather. His notes remain locked away at the almanac’s offices, but they provide the basis of a new forecast model informed by weather, solar and atmospheric science.

The secret formula used by the Farmers’ Almanac is based on sunspot activity, tidal forces resulting from the moon’s gravitational pull, planetary alignment and other factors. It’s known only by the almanac’s weather prognosticator, who goes by the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee.

As winter approaches — it officially arrives in the United States on Monday, Dec. 21 — “preparing for the unexpected is more important than ever,” Peter Geiger, Farmers’ Almanac editor, said in a news release.