Columbus area can expect ‘extreme wintry mix’
Central Ohioans should prepare for a “season of shivers” — at least that’s what the 2022 Old Farmer’s Almanac is warning.
Below-average temperatures across most of the United States could bring a lot of snow, too, to areas, such as the Ohio Valley, which includes Columbus and southern Ohio, according to a release about the latest predictions by the 230-year-old publication.
“This coming winter could well be one of the longest and coldest that we’ve seen in years,” Janice Stillman, editor of the popular almanac, wrote in the release.
The publication — which often stirs up debate about its accuracy — uses three scientific disciplines, including solar science, climatology and meteorology, to make its predictions, according to its website.
Scott Hickman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said he wouldn’t comment on other weather predictors, such as the almanac. However, it’s still too early for the weather service’s own winter outlook, which is produced by the Climate Prediction Center in Maryland, he said.
“We usually do a three-month outlook that comes out in mid- to late October,” Hickman said. “That looks at December, January and February.”
He said experts will be following La Nina, a climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which could have effects on winter in central and southern Ohio, depending on how strong the feature is.
Currently, the three-month outlook through fall is calling for slightly aboveaverage temperatures and no strong signal for wetter or drier weather, he added. award@dispatch. @Allisonaward