Get ready for snow. Farmers’ Almanac has predictions for NC winter weather

After a brutally hot summer, our recent slightly cooler temperatures have some people looking forward to even cooler weather the coming fall and winter seasons will bring.

But just how cold will it get in North Carolina this winter? Can we expect a snowy winter wonderland, or will we be bringing out the flip flops in January?

To get some possible answers to those questions, we consulted the Farmers’ Almanac, which has been providing “an extended weather forecast that helps people plan ahead” each year since 1818. The Almanac released its 2022-2023 winter weather forecast last week, with physical copies hitting store shelves Aug. 15.

Here’s what the Almanac is predicting in North Carolina and the Southeast for this winter.

Overall winter predictions from the Farmers’ Almanac

Overall for the U.S., the Farmers’ Almanac is predicting a winter season “filled plenty of shaking, shivering and shoveling.”

▪ The 2022-2023 winter season will bring “plenty of snow, rain and mush,” the Almanac’s website says.

▪ “Frigid temperatures should flow into many areas nationwide,” the Almanac’s website says, with some spots in the country likely experiencing record-breaking cold temperatures — as low as 40 degrees below zero.

▪ The Almanac predicts there will be “quite a few significant winter weather disturbances nationwide” this winter, with heavy snow possible in early- to mid-January, depending on the exact location.

But most places can expect the “first bite” of winter weather to arrive earlier than usual — possibly even making for a white Christmas for some.

▪ “December 2022 looks stormy and cold nationwide with an active storm pattern developing and hanging around for most of the season over the eastern half of the country,” the Almanac’s website says.

Farmers’ Almanac predictions for NC’s winter weather

Closer to home, North Carolina appears to be in for either a “shivery, wet and slushy” winter or an “unreasonably cold” and “snowy” one, according to a map illustration from the Almanac.

▪ The Almanac says the winter season will be “be dominated by an active storm track in the eastern half of the country” that extends across West Virginia and Virginia — but according to the map on the Almanac’s website, North Carolina seems to be just south of that system.

▪ Instead, the Almanac says, much of the Southeast “will see frequent storms bringing cold rains and a wintry mix of wet snow, sleet, ice, freezing rain — as well as chilly temperatures.”

January 2023 will bring “some shivers” to the Southeast, the Almanac says.

▪ The Almanac says the “eastern two-thirds of the country” — likely including North Carolina — can expect “bouts of heavy rain and snow” during the week of Jan. 16-23 of next year.

▪ However, by February, “near-normal winter season temperatures” will return to the region.

▪ The Almanac predicts a “lion-like end of March” with varied conditions across the U.S., from “heavy snows to torrents of rain to gusty thunderstorms.”

More information from the Farmers’ Almanac

Want more information on the Farmers’ Almanac’s predictions for this winter? Read their full predictions online at farmersalmanac.com/extended-forecast.