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Heated discussions breaking the ice on winter weather predictions

Buckle up, bundle up and be brrr-ave as forecasters say winter will continue to deliver the cold shoulder.

UNITY — Winter woes getting you down?  

The first half of winter blasted us with four substantial storms in November. December decided to drop it down a bit, no pun intended, as frigid temperatures seemed to be the theme of the month.

Will the rest of winter bring heated discussions or will Jack Frost be changing his name to Jack Froze? It seems Old Man Winter still wants to deliver the cold shoulder.

A variety of weather resources predict 2022-23 winter weather - SaskToday.ca

As early as September of 2022, forecasters were calling for more snow and more cold for the prairies for winter 2022-23. Predictions of shake, shiver and shovel have come to fruition during the first two months of winter.

Winter, the new year version, won’t be snow much fun as it is predicted the prairie provinces will be hit hard with tons of snow in January and February. And if that isn’t exciting enough, January is predicted to bring Canadians one of the coldest arctic outbreaks in years.

The annual pig spleen forecast was released Dec. 6, and it wasn’t full of sunshine and roses either. Snow was forecasted to be significant at the end of December and carry into January. Mid-January, this forecaster concurs that extreme cold will be part of the winter picture. Whether you believe in this unorthodox weather forecasting method or not, many believe these winter predictions are more accurate than other resources.

Residents learned of the accuracy of this forecast as Dec. 24 brought significant snowfall and again on Dec. 27. The city of Saskatoon said that 33 of the 90 centimetres of snow received since November came between Dec. 24 and 27.

Crews worked throughout the holidays trying to clear excess snow on the priority one roads and worked throughout the remainder of December clearing snow.

February is predicted to start out cold and continue for the entire month however the pig spleen prediction indicates there will be no snow in February. Apparently by the start of March the cold will subside with some snow near the end of the month.

The pig spleen predicts both April and May will see below average temperatures with no snow or moisture in the forecast.

Your trusted weather resource may be the farmer you know or the community’s senior who always seems to have an acute sixth sense about impending weather.

Whether you believe in Mother Nature’s moodiness, or Old Man Winter’s nastiness, it appears it won’t matter what the groundhog says come February, we will continue to chill out as inclement 2023 weather will not be an ice-o-lated occurrence.

Buckle up, bundle up and brrr-ave up as winter will continue to deliver the cold shoulder.

Did you hear the one about the guy who opened his refrigerator to heat the house? Hang in there folks as we might have at least hit the halfway point and as of Dec. 21 our days will now become longer each day.