Are we in for another snowy winter?
It depends on who you ask.
The Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac predicts a drier winter for Metro Vancouver, but the Weather Network says we will be hit with plenty of the white stuff in early 2018.
The Farmer鈥檚 Almanac has released its 2017/18 winter weather predictions for Canada, calling for a drier, warmer-than-average winter for Metro Vancouver, and most parts of B.C.
The trusted weather prognosticator says there will be occasional periods of heavy rain and cold air, but for the most part it will be a dry and mild winter for Lower Mainlanders.
That鈥檚 unlike Ontario and Quebec, which the Almanac says will be walloped with snow and cold.
Last year, the Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac was right on the mark with its prediction of a 鈥榗old and snowy鈥� winter for B.C.
According to new information released on Monday by the Weather Network, B.C. can still expect the a snowy winter in early 2018.
鈥淎s a whole, Canadians should expect a wild ride from start to finish,鈥� said Chris Scott, Chief Meteorologist at The Weather Network.
Metro Vancouver won鈥檛 experience the cold it did last year, but it will see snow. The local ski hills will have great skiing in 2018. However, December is expected to be milder with the white stuff coming in January.
There is even some talk of El Nina bringing in snow levels similar to the winter of 2007/08.
Last winter, Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley were pounded day after day with blizzards, rendering some local roads impassable.
During the winter of 2016/17, Township crews sprayed 1.8 million litres of brine and used over 4,500 tonnes of salt and still a number of roadways remained under inches of ice for several weeks.
Both the Township and City, as well as the school district went over budget to pay for snow removal.
And for the first time in recent history, schools across the Fraser Valley were closed for three days in a row due to hazardous snow conditions.
It seems like the B.C. government is willing to take the Weather Network鈥檚 predictions seriously. It鈥檚 stockpiling 900,000 litres of brine and 8,000 cubic metres of salt.
But the Farmer鈥檚 Almanac says we won鈥檛 see another stormy, snowy winter this year or a white Christmas.
How Accurate Is The Almanac?
The book claims to have an 80 per cent rate of accuracy, year after year.
The Farmer鈥檚 Almanac predicted 30 mm (below average) rain for November. So far, 138 mm has fallen this month nd there鈥檚 more on the way. However, that doesn鈥檛 compare to last November which saw 240.2 mm fall.
The famous book predicted above average snowfall for B.C. last year, so it was correct. But it wasn鈥檛 as accurate in its prediction of above-average snowfall for Ontario last year.
The Almanac is also predicting a hot spring for B.C. in 2018. But a cooler summer.
So how does the Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac predict the weather?
They compare weather trends against current solar activity, including using sun spots as a calculation.
The Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac was founded in 1792.
The Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac has released its winter weather predictions for all of Canada. According to the age-old book Metro Vancouver will see a normal winter, drier and warm. The Almanac, which features stories, recipes, horoscopes and more, is available to purchase for $6.99.
monique@langleytimes.com
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