It could be a colder, snowier winter

If the aftermath of the 2016 election has left you shivering — be prepared — as winter will soon be upon us.

The coldest season of the year is set to begin late next month. The Winter Solstice is also the shortest day of year — fortunately that means the days will slowly be getting longer from then on.

Winter officially begins on Wednesday, Dec. 21. For some warmer places that doesn’t mean much, but for those locations with four distinct seasons it signals a greater possibility for freezing temperatures and snowstorms.

The Farmer’s Almanac, which for 225 years has “been forecasting weather with amazing accuracy at times,” says that this winter will be different than last.

“For the winter of 2016–2017, we expect temperatures to be much colder than last winter but still above normal. Winter 2017 will also feature below-normal snowfall overall; the snowy exception is the northern tier of the U.S., which can expect to be blanketed in white.”

The cold is expected to impact “much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation,” with exceptions “ in a swatch from North Dakota to Maine.”

The Almanac adds that “snowfall will be above normal from southern New England and western New York southward through the Appalachians, but not in northern New England.”

“Precipitation will be below normal across most of the southern two-thirds of the nation,” but “will be above normal in the North.”

Northeast cities — better start buying the salt now!