Will it be a Cold and Snowy Michigan This Winter? Nobody Agrees!

This is going to depress all of us but winter officially begins on Thursday, December 21. Wait...wait...you're saying, it's not even fall yet. For sure, but many of us are already thinking ahead because we have heard rumors that it's going to be a cold and snowy Winter.

They're possibly not rumors because the trusted Old Farmers Almanac says:

"This winter will come with below-average temperatures and lots of snowstorms, sleet, ice rain for much of the Great Lakes and Midwest areas of the country."

But wait, there is another side. Those weather folks who study El Nino are saying it may be a very mild winter.

For those of us who don't actually understand what El Nino is, it's when a large part of the Pacific Ocean stretching along the Equator becomes warmer than normal. Got it?

At any rate, the weather forecasters are predicting that, that body of water will be much warmer than normal and will be a strong El Nino. During strong El Ninos, and this has only happened 14 times since 1950, we have averaged 11 inches or more below our normal snow fall.

Conversely, the Old Farmer's Almanac acknowledges El Nino, but says:

"The Brrr is Back. There are indications that an El Niño (an unusually high-water temperature off the Pacific Coast of South America), will be brewing in the latter half of 2023, lasting into the winter of 2024. If we consider that alongside our tried-and-true forecast formula, it means that cold temperatures should prevail throughout the country and bring snow, sleet, and ice."

I am totally confused. I'll just dream of a White Christmas and go from there.