Old Farmer’s Almanac Shocking Winter Forecast For North Dakota

We are expected to transition to a "La Nina" winter in North Dakota.

La Nina winters are typically cold for North Dakota.  That's what both the National Weather Service and the Farmer's Almanac are calling for in 2024-2025.

Not according to The Old Farmer's Almanac winter forecast for North Dakota, which just came out today.  More on that in a moment.

The Farmer's Almanac also came out recently with its prediction for the winter of 2024-2025 for North Dakota.  It has us shivering for most of the winter.  You can read about that here. 

So, what exactly is the difference between the Farmer's Almanac and the Old Farmer's Almanac? 

Good question right?  Both have been around for a long time.  According to Treehugger, the Old Farmer's Almanac has been around since 1792 and is based out of New Hamshire.  Their formula for predicting the weather has a lot to do with what's going on with the sun.  They claim to have an 80% accuracy rate. 

The Farmer's Almanac is also as old as dirt.  Not quite as old though.  It's been around since 1818 and is based out of Maine.  They also use the sun in their formula for predicting the weather and claim to have an 80 to 85% accuracy rate.

Both of these publications seem to be in disagreement on this year's winter forecast for North Dakota.

Mild and dry baby.  The Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting a winter much like what we had last winter with near-normal precipitation and warmer temperatures.

Specifically, our little slice of the 701 in the High Plains is expecting near-normal snowfall (46 inches of snow for Bismarck), with the snowiest periods in mid-November, mid- and late January, and late February.

Winter temperatures will be warmer than normal in the northern parts of this region—and colder than normal in the southern areas. Expect the coldest periods in early and mid-January and early to late February.

Temperatures will also be warmer than normal in our neck of the woods.  The coldest periods will be in early and mid-January and early to late February.

Overall, the Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting a "calmer, gentler" winter for the entire country.

This goes against a typical La Nina winter pattern which once again, usually leads to a Colder winter for North Dakota.  I guess we'll see who's correct, The Old Farmer's Almanac, The Farmer's Almanac, or The National Weather Service. Let's hope it's the Old Farmer's Almanac if you like it mild.