As Kansas prepares for winter to end, many are crossing their fingers for warmer, mild weather.
However, if the Farmers’ Almanac has predicted correctly, Kansans should prepare for colder temperatures, as well as thunder and snowstorms, this spring.
The almanac, which has been predicting weather (with varying accuracy) since 1818, recently released its extended weather forecast for the upcoming spring, titled “Polar Coaster Spring.”
Here’s what the Farmers’ Almanac has predicted for the spring and how that could impact Kansans.
What is the Farmers’ Almanac predicting for Kansas’s upcoming spring weather forecast?
“Ski-lovers rejoice,” the almanac writes. “We’re heading for a ‘Polar Coaster Spring.’ Farmers’ Almanac long-range weather forecast calls for many days of cold temperatures.”
The almanac’s 200-year-old mathematical and astrological formula indicates the Great Plains will see plenty of cold temperatures and “occasional bouts of storminess,” bringing widespread rains and snows.
March will bring wild swings in the thermometer, the almanac writes, so Kansans should expect March to go out like a lion, with similar “cool and stormy” conditions predicted for the majority of the United States into the spring.
Over Easter weekend ― Thursday, March 28, through Sunday, March 31 ― Kansas and the north-central U.S. region should expect mixed clouds … at least according to the almanac, as well as the possibility of snow in April.
The almanac predicts cool temps and storms will continue into May.
Kansas should expect cool and drier weather.
How accurate is the Farmers’ Almanac forecast?
The Farmers’ Almanac has released extended weather forecasts every year since 1818, using the same forecast formula. The almanac states that its readers find its predictions to be accurate about 80% to 85% of the time. However, the Columbus Dispatch found that most analyses of the almanac’s predictions have indicated an accuracy rate of 50%. If that’s the case, you might as well flip a coin.
Last year, the almanac predicted a “cold and stormy” winter for Midwest states in its extended winter weather forecast for winter 2023-2024.
Topeka saw 3.1 inches of snow in early January. Snowfall totals were reported of 5.1 inches at McLouth, 5 inches at Ottawa, 4.5 inches at Abilene and 4 inches at Lawrence, said Matt Wolters, meteorologist for National Weather Service’s Topeka office.
Snow, followed by high winds, had the Evergy electrical utility scrambling to keep up with the number of power outages it was seeing in northeast Kansas. More than 2,100 homes and businesses in the Topeka area were affected with more than 22,000 affected in the greater Kansas City area, Evergy said on an online power outage map it maintains.
So, as we go through March, it’s safe to say that the almanac’s extended winter forecast has been relatively accurate so far.
Where can I find the Farmers’ Almanac spring weather forecast?
The Farmers’ Almanac “Polar Coaster Spring” spring 2024 extended weather forecast can be found online.
