The Polar Coaster sounds like a great name for an amusement park ride. Or maybe for a horror movie. And that's exactly why the folks at the Farmer's Almanac have chosen it to describe the upcoming winter in store for us this year.

The new Farmer's Almanac hit newsstands this week. The iconic journal's editors Sandi Duncan and Peter Geiger have delivered the weather news. And it looks some of are not going to like it very much here in the northeastern United States, and specifically in Central New York.

“This winter is going to be full of thrills and chills,” according to Geiger, who added: "it’s going to be a long ride on the Polar Coaster.”

That's correct. The Almanac forecasters say winter will be marked by intense cold and precipitation, with extremes so severe they’re comparing it to some sort of crazy, sadistic carnival ride.

Here's the official forecast from THE Almanac of record, according to the Press Herald:

With colder than normal temperatures in the Northeast and above-normal precipitation expected,” goes the official forecast, “our outlook forewarns of not only a good amount of snow, but also a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow, especially along the coast.

Here's a month-by-month blow-by-blow:

  • October and November--wet and chillier than normal
  • December--snow and freezing precipitation
  • Early January--monster snowstorms
  • Late January--intense cold
  • February--more of the same.

Almanac forecasters say the bad weather (or good weather for skiers, boarders and snowmobilers) may linger into April. “It’s going to seem like a long, long ride, Duncan said.

So...buckle in and buckle up. And remember: you heard it here first.

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