Spring has sprung, even if the temperatures aren’t feeling like it yet. With the new season, The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Farmers’ Almanac have both released their spring weather outlooks to help planters and families plan their calendars in the months ahead.
Unlike your daily weather forecasts, which provide updated forecasts based on the latest weather data and models, both almanacs take a holistic approach to their long-range forecasts, combining space weather influences from the Sun, climatology and meteorology.
The almanacs issue predictions up to a year ahead, which any meteorologist will tell you is a challenge to get right.
Both almanacs boast accurate predictions, but like the 2025 winter predictions, their spring outlooks are at odds in a few areas.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac: Warmer, wetter than average for most
Meteorologists Bob Smerbeck and Brian Thompson, with The Old Farmer’s Almanac, established in 1792 in New Hampshire, write that warmer-than-average temperatures are likely for most of the country, except Southern and Central California, the Desert Southwest, southern Florida and the western Ohio Valley.
The outlook warns that before spring-cleaning your closet, keep those jackets handy into June across the Intermountain West.
“While April will likely end up warmer than average across the Intermountain West, chilly spells could lead to a late frost in some areas in May,” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac spring outlook.
Spring is severe weather season, and parts of the Plains, Midwest and South have already experienced deadly tornado outbreaks in March. Smerbeck and Thompson write that a “relatively active severe weather season is expected,” especially in the Deep South, where more frequent thunderstorms are expected.
Meanwhile, The Old Farmer’s Almanac spring outlook shows drier conditions for northern New England, southern Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, America’s Heartland, the western Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes, the northern High Plains and Upper Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.
Farmers’ Almanac: ‘Thunder and zing spring’
Meteorological spring did start with a “zing” with dozens of tornadoes, and the Farmers’ Almanac, established in 1818, suggests that astronomical spring will continue with this dangerous precedent.
However, this is where the dueling almanac outlooks begin.
The temperature and rain forecasts for several regions in the U.S., including the Northeast, northern Plains and Southwest, differ.
The Farmers’ Almanac outlook calls for a “cool and stormy” spring season for most in the U.S. with warmer temperatures in the Southeast. However, the Farmers’ Almanac outlook shows cooler temperatures sticking around as spring takes time to arrive in the Midwest, Great Lakes, New England and Northeast regions, at odds with the Old Farmer’s Almanac outlook of “warm and dry.”
Both almanacs align in the Pacific Northwest, with cooler temperatures lasting into June.
The Farmers’ Almanac breaks up its Easter weekend predictions by zone, with pleasant weather for the Northeast and Southeast but some storms across the U.S.
The Farmers’ Almanac’s long-range weather predictions will also dampen Memorial Day, with rain forecast across many regions.
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