Winter Weather 2024-2025: A Look Back at the Season
Last winter rewrote its own rulebook. While December was quite warm, January hit back with snow in southern states, and February couldn't quite make up its mind. Here's what happened and how it matched up with what we predicted two years in advance!
Quick Reference: Winter Weather 2024-2025
- Season: meteorological winter ran December 2024-February 2025.
- Temperature: 34.1 degrees F nationwide, almost 2 degrees warmer than usual, in the top third of NOAA’s records.
- Precipitation: 5.87 inches, nearly an inch below average, the third driest winter on record.
- The twist: a warm December, a January Arctic blast that snowed on the Gulf Coast, and a split-personality February.
- Forecast scorecard: the Farmers’ Almanac correctly called a mild South, a cold North, and a bitter end to January.
Meteorological winter (December 2024-February 2025) ran almost 2 degrees warmer than usual across the nation, at 34.1 degrees F, landing it in the top third of NOAA’s records. But warmth did not bring rain. Total precipitation fell nearly one inch below average, at 5.87 inches, making the winter weather of 2024-2025 the third driest on record. Look closer and the season splits into three very different acts, so here is what happened month by month and how it matched the forecast we shared two years in advance.
Three Months, Three Different Winters
One national average hid three separate winters. December leaned warm, January turned bitter and reached deep into the South, and February could not decide. Here is how each month played out.
December 2024: A Warm Open
December 2024 was the fourth-warmest December in 130 years. Mild air settled over much of the country, and for a few weeks it looked like the season might stay gentle. It did not last.
January 2025: An Arctic Blast Reaches the Gulf
January flipped the script. An Arctic blast pushed so far south that Floridians found themselves making snowmen on the beach. Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans saw historic snowfall, the kind of Gulf Coast scene that turns up once in a generation. Overall, January 2025 ended up being the coldest since 1988 and the sixth driest ever recorded.
Meanwhile, California faced a different crisis. The Palisades and Eaton wildfires, driven by fierce Santa Ana winds, destroyed 16,000 buildings and took 29 lives. Donate to California’s Wildfire Recovery Fund.
February 2025: A Split Decision
February 2025 brought yet another shift. The Southwest basked in unusual warmth, and Arizona had its second-warmest February. In contrast, the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains shivered through below-average temperatures. Rainfall finally returned to normal, measuring 2.13 inches nationwide, though its distribution looked like a patchwork quilt, some regions soaked and others parched.
Winter Weather 2024-2025 by the Numbers
A single nationwide average tells you the season was warm and dry, but it hides how differently each corner of the country fared. This regional breakdown pulls the season’s headline facts into one place. NOAA’s National Climate Report is the source for the national temperature and precipitation records referenced here.
Across the border, the same La Nina pattern that steered the U.S. season shaped conditions in Canada, where the Almanac’s forecast zones reach into the southern provinces. The story was the same one nature told everywhere that winter: a warm, dry average sitting on top of sharp regional swings.
Notable Winter Events of 2024-2025
Two moments defined the season more than any average could. The first was the Gulf Coast snow, when a January Arctic blast dropped historic totals on Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans and sent Floridians out to build snowmen on the beach. It was the sort of rare event people will still be talking about years from now.
The second was far more sober. In Southern California, the Palisades and Eaton wildfires, whipped by fierce Santa Ana winds, destroyed 16,000 buildings and took 29 lives. Dry air and wind, not snow, wrote the hardest chapter of the winter. If you would like to help, you can still give to California’s Wildfire Recovery Fund through the link above.
2024-2025 Farmers’ Almanac Winter Forecast Accuracy
Our forecast for a mild winter in Texas and the Southern Plains hit the mark, and we correctly called the cold weather over the Northern Plains and Great Lakes.
We also accurately forewarned of a very cold spell at the end of January. But La Nina threw a curveball, leaving us with fewer wet weather events than expected. That is the honest scorecard: strong on the temperature pattern, lighter than we called on the moisture side.
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A Note About Forecasting
Weather forecasting has come a long way since 1818, when the first Farmers’ Almanac helped readers plan ahead, without smartphones or TV meteorologists. Our formula accounts for various proprietary factors, and we are humble enough to know that nature always gets the last word.
Our predictions reach further into the future than any app or weather service, and we take pride in sharing these insights months before anyone else. But like those early Almanac readers who watched nature for cues, we know that forecasting remains part science, part art, and always an adventure.
Winter Weather 2024-2025: Frequently Asked Questions
How warm was winter weather 2024-2025 overall?
Meteorological winter (December 2024-February 2025) averaged 34.1 degrees F nationwide, almost 2 degrees warmer than usual, which put it in the top third of NOAA’s records. It was also dry, with 5.87 inches of precipitation, nearly an inch below average and the third driest winter on record.
Why did January 2025 feel so cold if the winter was warm overall?
The season’s warmth came mostly from December, which was the fourth-warmest December in 130 years. January went the other way. An Arctic blast pushed far south and made January 2025 the coldest since 1988 and the sixth driest ever recorded, so the cold was real even though the three-month average landed on the warm side.
Did it really snow on the Gulf Coast during winter 2024-2025?
Yes. In January 2025, an Arctic blast reached the Gulf and dropped historic snowfall on Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans. Florida saw enough snow that people built snowmen on the beach, a scene that region gets maybe once in a lifetime.
How accurate was the Farmers’ Almanac winter forecast for 2024-2025?
Our forecast called a mild winter for Texas and the Southern Plains and cold weather over the Northern Plains and Great Lakes, and both hit the mark. We also forewarned a very cold spell at the end of January. La Nina threw a curveball on the moisture side, leaving fewer wet weather events than we expected, so the temperature pattern held up better than the precipitation call.
How can the Almanac forecast a winter two years in advance?
The Farmers’ Almanac has forecast the weather since 1818 using a formula that accounts for various proprietary factors, and it reaches further into the future than any app or weather service. It is not perfect. We are humble enough to know that nature gets the last word, so we treat forecasting as part science, part art, and always an adventure.
What caused the California wildfires that winter?
In January 2025, the Palisades and Eaton wildfires were driven by fierce Santa Ana winds during an unusually dry stretch. The fires destroyed 16,000 buildings and took 29 lives, a reminder that a warm, dry winter carries its own dangers even without snow.
Was winter 2024-2025 wet or dry?
Dry. The season totaled 5.87 inches of precipitation, nearly an inch below average and the third driest winter on record. January alone was the sixth driest ever recorded. February brought rainfall back toward normal at 2.13 inches nationwide, but it fell in a patchwork, with some regions soaked and others left parched.
Caleb Weatherbee
Caleb Weatherbee is the official forecaster for the Farmers' Almanac. His name is actually a pseudonym that has been passed down through generations of Almanac prognosticators and has been used to conceal the true identity of the men and women behind our predictions.
- Caleb Weatherbee
- Caleb Weatherbee
- Caleb Weatherbee
- Caleb Weatherbee
