Winter Weather Forecast for 2022 Will Be Near-Normal

As we enter the last quarter of calendar year 2021, many growers and garden centers are curious about the upcoming winter weather forecast and how it will impact their region in the coming year.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021, is the official start of winter, and our friends over at The Farmer’s Almanac have already shared their winter weather forecast predictions.

According to the Almanac’s time-tested weather formula, “There will be snow, but probably not as much as snow-sport enthusiasts might dream of. On average, we’ll see near-normal amounts of the white stuff from coast to coast. However, there will be notable month-to-month variations.”

The beginning of 2022 will lull you into a false sense of weather security with mild temperatures across much of the country. But later in the month, temperatures will cool dramatically, with the Atlantic Seaboard seeing a long stretch of precipitation from rain, snow, sleet, and ice.

As for the Great Lakes, Midwest, and Ohio Valley, they will definitively see their fair share of colder temperatures and snowfall in January, while the Northern Plains and Rockies will see much of the same with the possibility of a blizzard later in the month.

The Southern Great Plains will also see frigid temperatures and snowfall, but nothing as damaging as the weather experienced in the fall of 2020. For those on the West Coast, January will bring some heavy storms coming in from the Pacific.

In February, things seem to settle down a bit with the Almanac predicting that, “In the eastern-third of the country, for example, we calculate that on average there will be 57% fewer days of measurable precipitation compared to January, a significant drop-off. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that storminess will be completely absent.”

For those in the Northeast and Ohio Valley, the Almanac predicts a “winter whopper” in February and an “atmospheric hemorrhage” in the far West from the Pacific with strong winds, heavy rains, and even snow.

While March is looking “uneventful” at this point, it has the potential to be intense when a storm does become active. Later in the month, there will be a winter storm in the East and Midwest, followed by a nor’easter on the East Coast.

What about the winter weather forecast for our neighbors in Canada? “Well, grab your gloves and fetch your fleece—it’s going to be a yo-yo type of winter with notable polar coaster swings in temperatures,” says the Almanac. You can read all about Canada’s regional conditions here.