Not again: Texas could be ‘chilled to the bone’ this winter, Farmer’s Almanac says

After a disastrous and deadly freeze in Texas, the Farmer’s Almanac is warning of more bad weather this winter.

The long-running publication predicted Texans will be “chilled to the bone” and experience “near normal precipitation” in its 2021-2022 Winter Outlook, which was released this month.

“For our friends in the Southern Great Plains, including Texas and Oklahoma, we are sorry to report that late January may bring some potentially frigid and flaky weather like you experienced last winter,” Farmer’s Almanac said. “Hopefully, it won’t be as robust, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”

In February, a brutally cold winter storm hobbled the state’s power grid. With record low temperatures and icy roads shutting down much of the state, at least 210 people died — mostly from hypothermia with other deaths from vehicle crashes, carbon monoxide poisoning, the exacerbation of serious illnesses, falls and fires.

The Farmer’s Almanac said it predicted the arctic outbreak in February and forecast “similar cold and snowy conditions in late January, but fortunately, they shouldn’t be as bad as last year.”

As for the rest of the country, the Farmer’s Almanac said the U.S. will have a “frosty flip-flop winter” with a January that begins mild but turns “cold and stormy” followed by a “much quieter” February that could end with a “winter whopper” in the Northeast and Ohio Valley.

The Farmer’s Almanac releases extended forecasts for all four seasons based on a “proprietary formula” that includes various astronomical factors.

This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 6:27 PM.