It’s a chilling winter forecast from the 2023 edition of the Old Farmer’s Almanac. 

The publication is predicting that the Moose Jaw area will experience colder than normal temperatures this winter and more precipitation, but an average amount of snow. This means that at times when we would normally see snow, we’ll likely experience freezing rain and sleet. 

The periodical predicts a front-loaded winter in Saskatchewan with most of the cold temperatures and snow coming mainly in November and December. 

Old Farmer’s Almanac managing editor Jack Burnett said we will experience the coldest temperatures in mid-November to the first part of December. Those hardcore cold temperatures will then start to dissipate in the first and last weeks of January and the last week of February. 

“What's kind of interesting about it is what we call sneaky cold, which is to say that it'll be up and down and up and down. Sometimes, just when we think that the coast is clear and we got a little milder spell, all of a sudden we'll get hit with something really cold, really frigid,” Burnett said. 

As for snow, the Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting snowfall during the last week of November, mid-December and the last week of December and all throughout January. 

Specifically, it is predicting from Nov. 15 to 19 will be very cold and Nov. 26-30 will be frigid, there will be a snowstorm from Dec. 10 to 13 and Jan. 19 to the end of the month will be very cold with snowstorms. Burnett added that Christmas and New Year's could be snowy and cold, but they are predicting nice weather next month for Thanksgiving.

During the summer of 2022, the Old Farmer’s Almanac’s predictions had Moose Jaw in between cool and dry and cool and rainy. The prediction ended up being pretty accurate. 

Burnett said about six or seven years ago reviewed their weather predictions and have been doing a four-year test to tweak their algorithms. 

“It seems to be working pretty well now. We looked about 85 per cent last year, which is above our traditional 80 per cent,” he said. 

The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been published since 1792 and the Canadian Edition has been in print since 1982. You can find out more about the Almanac at almanca.com.