Curious what to expect this winter? Check out The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecast

Brace yourselves: Winter is coming, and according to The 2026 Old Farmer’s Almanac, it’s going to be a snowy and cold one for Cleveland County.

While much of the nation is predicted to be mild, the Almanac foresees a chilly and snowy winter in North Carolina.

Published each September since 1792, The Old Farmer’s Almanac contains weather forecasts, planting charts, astronomical data, recipes and articles. It is the oldest continuously published periodical in North America.

According to Almanac.com, this winter’s forecast can be described as “mostly mild with pockets of wild.”

Astronomical winter this season officially begins with the winter solstice on Sunday, Dec. 21, and goes until the vernal equinox on Thursday, March 19, 2026.

The Carolinas are predicted to be hit with a greater amount of snow and lower-than-average temperatures than most other regions.

The Almanac, which divides the United States into 18 climate regions, uses solar activity levels, ocean-atmosphere weather patterns and other parameters to determine whether average conditions will be warmer or colder and drier or wetter.

The Almanac lists the Southeast, or Appalachians, as Region 3 out of the 18 regions, which encompasses the Carolinas and Georgia.

What to expect in Region 3:

Here is what is expected for the 2025-26 winter season in the Region 3, which includes a swath of the country that reaches from Elmira, New York, through large portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, and into the Shelby area of Western North Carolina.

• It will be colder than usual.

• Temperatures: Below normal

• Coldest periods: Mid- and late December, early and late January, early February.

• Precipitation: Below normal.

• Snowfall: In areas that snow, residents can expect above average snowfall with the heaviest arriving in late December, late January, early and late February and mid-March.

What’s shaping the 2025–2026 winter outlook

• Solar Cycle 25 recently peaked: High solar activity historically warms Earth’s average temperatures, though the effect has weakened in recent decades.

• La Niña fading: The Pacific is transitioning to neutral conditions, shifting the jet stream and storm tracks across North America.

• Ocean oscillations steady: Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (warm) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (cool) remain stable, influencing regional storm patterns.

• Shifting stratospheric winds: The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation can affect polar vortex position, sending cold air southward.

• Polar vortex may wobble: If displaced, bursts of frigid air and snow could plunge deep into the U.S.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Check out what The Old Farmer’s Almanac winter weather forecast