Old Farmer's Almanac Forecasts Mostly "Mild" 2026-27 Winter Nationwide

by admin in RSS Social News. Posted August 28, 2026

Knock, knock. Next ski season’s at the door. And in case you missed all the headlines about the “Super” El Niño and what that might mean for winter, here’s a reminder: in only a few months, hopefully, we’ll all be skiing. It’s time for summer to kick rocks.

Okay, not really. Tans, cold beer, and lemonade are great. A break from the cold is nice. But we have entered a phase you could call the pre-season—or maybe the pre-pre-season?—when winter hype really starts to pick up. With that comes a very natural skier’s tendency to begin speculating, however vaguely, about how a given winter will pan out weather-wise. Admittedly, all that’s available right now are just that: guesses, some of which are more informed than others. You’ll need to wait for the seven-day forecast if you want something truly concrete.

In the meantime, though, it’s fun to look at all the predictions and dream about the storms they anticipate.

So, without further ado, here’s the overview of the latest 2026-27 winter forecast from the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the annual tome with the secretive, centuries-old meteorological formula (that now also includes “state-of-the-art technology and modern science,” according to the Almanac).

Old Farmer’s Almanac winter 2026-27 forecast.

Old Farmer's Almanac

California and the Southwest Winter Ski Forecast

The headliner, perhaps, of this forecast is that almost nowhere is in for “cold” or below-average temperatures, according to the Almanac. That includes both California and the Southwest. However, in better news for skiers, California’s in for near to or above normal mountain snowfall.

Moving east into New Mexico and Arizona, most of those states are labeled “mild” and “dry” with a glimmer of wetter hope at their northern borders. Perhaps that bodes well for Taos and Arizona Snowbowl, which are perched in the north of their respective states and are considered part of the “Intermountain” region rather than the “Desert Southwest” by the Almanac (well, Taos is really somewhere on the line between the two).

Intermountain West Winter Ski Forecast

The epicenter of the gloomiest and warmest tendencies of the 2025-26 season, the Intermountain West and its skiers have, hopefully, something to look forward to, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. While the book’s forecasting “mild” weather again, those toastier temperatures also come with above-normal precipitation and snow. Remember, mild weather is just fine for skiing as long as it’s not too mild—hot pow is still pow.

Pacific Northwest Winter Ski Forecast

The Pacific Northwest could also use a break after one seriously funky winter that swung wildly between far too wet (resort access roads were washed away) and far too dry (Timberline Lodge closed, sadly, in July this year, earlier than normal).

That break may be coming. While “mild” is the dominant weather condition, precipitation and snow are slated to be above normal, all the way down the West Coast into northern California. Ideally, that means fewer rain storms at 6,000 feet.

East Coast Winter Ski Forecast

The East Coast can’t make up its mind. A band of “cold” and “snowy” weather stretches from the Virginias through Pennsylvania and to the northern third of New York. Beyond that, in most of Vermont, New Hampshire, and all of Maine, it’s “mild” and “dry” until the Canadian border. The Northeast could ride out a less-than-fantastic season—the weather last winter treated the region much o great—but we hope this part of the forecast doesn’t shut down too many prospective powder days.

What Do Other Forecasts Say?

For comparison’s sake, we’ve also pulled in two other winter weather forecasts for you to look at: the one created by OpenSnow and an update from the Climate Prediction Center. Both are far less granular than the Old Farmer’s Almanac and lean towards the broader strokes associated with El Niño, the climate pattern that—as you’ve surely heard—is set to be one of the major meteorological players running the show this winter.

Historically, El Niño tends to juice up the Pacific jet, making for wetter weather across the southern third of the U.S. and warmer conditions up north. OpenSnow, which considered other meteorological factors in its forecast beyond El Niño, went with a region of above-normal snow over the Southwest and a band of below-normal snow over the northern third of the U.S., clearly taking that pattern into account.