While our winter “officially” starts on Dec. 21, snowboarding normally gets going around Halloween and according to the Farmers’ Almanac Winter 2024 Extended Forecast, we should be expecting a solid winter to contend with. Cold temps, El Niño, and plenty of cold temps are currently on the calendar for a good amount of North America, and below we have what is on their site. Last year they called for a frosty and flaky winter out East, which didn’t really materialize so we are going to bookmark this one and see how right they are with the “second week of January” towards the bottom… but they have been doing this for over 100+ years, so what do we know. All we can do is hope they are right and we see a winter full of snow like Mammoth Mountain who just closed a little over a week ago after their historic winter.
“Our extended weather forecast, which is based on a mathematical and astronomical formula, calls for below-average temperatures and lots of snowstorms, sleet, ice, rain for much of the Great Lakes and Midwest areas of the country, as well as central and northern New England, especially in January and February. (Brrr…) When will the first snowfall of the season be? An unusually snowy and wet winter is also predicted for the Pacific Northwest. Should an El Niño materialize, it could direct the subtropical jet stream into California, translating into copious amounts of rain and snow across the entire Southwest.
Winter in the Great Plains and Rockies will usher in plenty of cold temperatures and occasional bouts of storminess, bringing widespread rains and snows. Texans will need to bundle up, as unseasonably cold weather is forecast throughout January and February, with a possible major winter storm in mid-January. The Southeast and Florida will see a wetter-than-normal winter, with average winter temperatures overall, but a few frosts may send many shivers to snowbirds trying to avoid the cold and snow back home. For those of you living along the I-95 corridor from Washington to Boston, who saw a lack of wintry precipitation last winter, you should experience quite the opposite, with lots of rain/sleet and snowstorms to contend with.”
- The second week of January will be stormy, snowy, and wet for both the Pacific Coast and the Eastern States.
- Lots of cold temperatures and some storms will keep folks in the South Central States busy during the middle of January.
- Heavy mountain snows will cover the western US including the mountains on the Pacific Coast during the first week of February.
- An East Coast storm affecting the Northeast and New England states will bring snowfall, cold rain and then frigid temperatures, during the second week of February.
- Unseasonably cold temperatures will blow into the Southeast States mid-February.
- Potential blizzards for this first week of March will remind folks in the North Central States that winter isn’t over yet.
- Another East Coast storm will bring a wintry mess to this area during the first week of March.
- A possible late-season snowfall over the high terrain of New England during the third week of April won’t be a fun “April Fools’ Day” prank!
It is pretty funny that an organization that has been around way before the internet even feels the need to post on Instagram. But if you are into the Farmers’ Almanac, or what we can only guess to be their arch-nemesis The Old Farmer’s Almanac, they both post rather frequently and have followings bigger than plenty of snowboarding brands.
