Winter may be a few months away, but it’s front and centre in August as the Canadian Farmers’ Almanac releases its 2021 long-range winter weather forecast, which is dubbed “Winter of the great divide” because of its unusual outlook.
Because the Almanac is anticipating “cold and snowy conditions in the north, dry in the west, and everything crazy in between,” they’re asking, “which side are you on?”
“Preparing people for the unexpected in more important than ever,” states editor Peter Geiger, Philom. “Our job as editors of the Farmers’ Almanac is to pass down valuable tips and advice to help our readers thrive, no matter the obstacles, including the weather.”
From Mild to Wild
The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting an unseasonably mild winter for the eastern provinces including Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.
More normal/seasonal temperatures will predominate across Quebec west to central Ontario.
In contrast, farther west, over western Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and eastern British Columbia will experience much colder than normal winter temperatures.
Snow Way Out
If you like snow, then you should head out to western Quebec and Ontario, where snowier-than-normal conditions are forecast. In addition, above-normal snow is expected over the interior of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
An active storm (thanks to incoming storms from the Pacific) will bring a heavier than normal dose of rain to western British Columbia.
The Canadian Farmers’ Almanac is red-flagging the second week of January over Ontario and Quebec for a possible heavy snowfall with a wintry mix for the Maritimes, and the second week of February for possible blizzard conditions in the Maritimes.
This year is the first year that the Canadian Farmers’ Almanac has moved to a digital-only format. “We have had great interest from our Canadian readers to have an electronic version of the Almanac available so we felt that the timing was right to move this edition to a pdf format for 2021,” states managing editor Sandi Duncan, Philom. Digital editions are available on the Farmers’ Almanac’s web site.
