http://www.jamestownsun.com/content/predictions-winter-forecasts-vary-between-nws-farmers-almanac

Predictions: Winter forecasts vary between NWS, Farmers’ Almanac
By Chris Olson on Sep 2, 2014

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Last week, predictions of a cold, snowy winter were common after two competing compendiums of folklore and weather knowledge, the Farmers’ Almanac, printed in Lewiston, Maine, and the Old Farmer’s Almanac, printed in Dublin, N.H., both released long-range winter forecasts for the U.S.

The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting “below normal temperatures for about three-quarters of the nation,” according to the company’s website.

“The most frigid temperatures will be found from the Northern Plains into the Great Lakes,” the website forecast states. The Farmers’ Almanac long-range forecast also calls for near normal precipitation amounts for the Northern Plains.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecast for the Upper Midwest region, which includes the east half of North Dakota, calls for winter temperatures, precipitation and snowfall to all be below normal this winter.

But the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center in Maryland is predicting above average temperatures for October 2014 through April 2015, with an equal chance of above or below average precipitation.

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