(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are still enduring the heat of summer, but forecasters are already looking ahead to the winter chill. The 2026 edition of the Farmers’ Almanac is now available and editor Sandi Duncan predicts Iowans will need to make sure their furnaces are in good working condition or they’re stocked up on firewood. “The winter’s going to be on a ‘chill, snow, repeat’ pattern, meaning, it’s going to chill down, snow and then repeat again,” Duncan says. “You guys are very lucky, or unlucky, depending on how you look at it — but you guys are tough — your specific area, we’re seeing very cold conditions with a lot of snow, and in fact, the snowy and cold conditions may start a little bit early this year.”

Winter officially arrives December 21st but the almanac is predicting the first significant snowfall will hit Iowa in early December. The winter will be bone-chilling and snow-filled, what Duncan calls a classic winter wonderland, starting the second week of January. “We’re saying from the 8th to the 11th, we’re talking about very cold conditions as well as the 12th through the 15th,” Duncan says. “In February, we’re also calling for very frigid conditions from the 8th through the 11th, and we’re calling for a pretty decent snowstorm from the 16th through the 19th of February, as well as from the 20th through the 23rd.” Spring will be slow to arrive next year, so slow, she’s predicting it’ll be “sloth-like.”

Farmers’ Almanac 2025 – 2026 winter forecast calls for a season of dramatic swings and widespread wintry weather.

“Your area’s going to have a chilled spring season with average rainfall,” Duncan says. “Looking at the month by month forecast, March looks cold and snowy. We’re having frigid conditions and also bitter cold all the way through the month of March. If you don’t like winter, you might want to make some plans for early March.” The Lewiston, Maine-based almanac boasts a forecast accuracy rate of 80% to 85%, which she says is based on a formula that was first created in 1818. “Our founding editor had come up with a way to look at celestial objects, the moon, sunspot activity, and correlate it with weather conditions here on earth,” Duncan says. “We still use some of that formula. We have made adjustments and we look at things like sunspot activity, tidal acts on the moon, the position of the planets, as well as try to factor in some atmospheric conditions.”

Besides long-term weather predictions, the Farmers’ Almanac also contains a wealth of information on gardening, cooking, home remedies, folklore, managing your household, living in harmony with nature, and more.