i heard on the radio a month or so ago that the farmer's almanac was prediction a very cold and very snowy winter in the upper midwest. where did you hear warm temps and below normal snowfall??? that would be very exciting... We use weather models to help us predict sales and we are expecting a more mild winter, especially in regards to snowfall, this year. Most of this is based off of the El Nino model. But, I was having the exact conversation with a friend of mine earlier today whose fiance's family are all farmer and this is what I found. From the Farmers Almanac: Annual Weather Summary: November 2009 to October 2010 Winter will be about a degree colder than normal, on average, despite a number of mild periods. The coldest periods will occur in the second week of December, early to mid-January, mid- to late January, and mid-February. Precipitation and snowfall will be below normal in the east and above normal in the west. Watch for a snowstorm around Thanksgiving, with other snowy periods in early and late December, late January, mid-February, and mid-March. April and May will be warmer and drier than normal, with an early-season hot spell in mid-May. Summer will be cooler than normal, with slightly below normal rainfall. The hottest periods will be in mid- to late June and mid- and late July. September and October will be warmer than normal, with below-normal rainfall in the east and above-normal rainfall in the west.