Home » Weather » Farmers' Almanac Looks to Janus

Farmers' Almanac Looks to Janus

Ever hear of Janus – the Roman god of gates and doors, god of new beginnings? If you have a copy of the 2008 Farmers’ Almanac you probably have an idea of who and why we’ve mentioned Janus in our weather outlook.

Janus is usually shown with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backwards as through a gateway. His name was given to the month of January, which is also the first full month of winter, and often the coldest winter month in many parts of the country.

But why Janus?
With his two faces, we associated this year’s long-range winter outlook with one of two personalities. The official winter outlook from the Farmers’ Almanac called for a TWO FACED WINTER:

Eastern half of the country would experience a colder than normal winter with a good chance of a lot of wintry precipitation.

Western half of the country may see the other side of the face with a milder than normal winter with below normal precipitation in many areas.

Which way is Janus looking?
Winter started off with a bang in many areas of North America – December was one of the coldest and snowiest on records in many places –early January saw very cold temperatures reaching as far south as Florida – then temperatureswarmed some – but what’s on tap?

Check out our long-range weather predictions to see your zone’s forecast. January is most often one of the coldest months of the winter, so be prepared. Skiing is good in many areas of the country so get out and enjoy.

Spring is coming!