The Farmers' Almanac has made its spring forecast. What does it mean for Ohio?

Monroe Trombly, The Columbus Dispatch
·1 min read
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As the halfway point between winter and spring arrives Friday, The Farmer's Almanac isn't winning any fans with its projection of when spring weather could actually arrive.

In publication since 1818, the Farmers' Almanac ― not to be confused with the Old Farmers Almanac ― is predicting a "soggy, shivery spring ahead" for much of the country. Warmer temperatures may take their time arriving, the almanac says.

"In fact, around the time of the vernal equinox (March 20) unseasonably cold temperatures may be gripping many parts of the country, extending the 'shiver and shovel' portion of our (winter) outlook," the almanac says.

Areas of the country expected to buck the trend of below-normal temperatures will be in the far West and Southwest, according to the almanac.

The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a “soggy, shivery spring ahead" for much of the country.
The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a “soggy, shivery spring ahead" for much of the country.

What will spring be like in Ohio?

The almanac did not provide a prediction for what springtime weather could look like in Ohio specifically, but it said "snow will continue to be mentioned" in early April for the Great Lakes region.

Spring weather will be unusually active over the nation's heartland with frequent heavy-to-severe thunderstorms, the almanac says. "Such adverse activity will be confined chiefly to the Southeast states during March, then will spread north and west April through June."

Kristen Cassady, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said the Climate Prediction Center, a branch of the National Weather Service, is predicting above-normal temperatures for the Ohio Valley in February, March and April.

"Generally speaking, warmer and wetter normal conditions are favored throughout the region," Cassady said.

A yellow trout lily blooms in early April in Hocking Hills. Ohio has more than 70 native ephemerals that bloom in the spring. In publication since 1818, the Farmers' Almanac is predicting a "soggy, shivery spring ahead" for much of the country.
A yellow trout lily blooms in early April in Hocking Hills. Ohio has more than 70 native ephemerals that bloom in the spring. In publication since 1818, the Farmers' Almanac is predicting a "soggy, shivery spring ahead" for much of the country.

Monroe Trombly covers breaking and trending news.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@monroetrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's the Farmers' Almanac spring weather forecast