Georgia Winter Forecast 2019-2020 Released By NOAA

ATLANTA, GA — Weather experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have released a winter forecast for 2019-20 that's predicting a warmer season for Georgia with normal precipitation. In fact, its forecasters are predicting a warmer winter nationwide — not a single section of the United States is expected to have colder-than-usual temperatures this winter, according to the agency.

But before you dig your flip-flops back out, remember that even during a warmer winter in the Atlanta region, periods of cold and a bit of ice or snow are still possible.

The government organization stays away from projecting seasonal snowfall accumulations, stating that snow forecasts are generally impossible to predict until the week before the snow arrives.

With milder temperatures, forecasters are anticipating more precipitation for some areas.

"Wetter than average conditions are most likely in Alaska and Hawaii this winter, along with portions of the Northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, the Great Lakes and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast," the National Weather Service said in it 2019-20 winter forecast, which it released Thursday.

Drought conditions are likely to improve in the Southeast.

Comparing Winter Forecasts: Farmers' And Old Farmer's Almanacs

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration isn't the only organization that's released a 2019-20 prediction, but consensus can be hard to find when it comes to weather.

AccuWeather long-range forecaster Paul Pastelok says the Southeast is more likely to experience a wet couple of months.

Followers of the Farmers' Almanac are bracing for a snowy, bone-chilling season while the Old Farmer's Almanac's devotees are shunning snow blowers and taking out umbrellas.

The two meteorological publishers have almost identical names, but their long-range forecasts could not be more different.

The Farmers' Almanac, which released its prediction on Aug. 26, expects a brisk and wet winter in Atlanta. Winter weather will last into April. The coldest snap of the winter is expected hit during the last week of January 2020 and stretch into February, according to the forecast. Don't expect an early spring next year, the almanac says.

The competing Old Farmer's Almanac, which unveiled its forecast in September, also expects the Georgia's winter to be"mild, with soakers" in the coming months.

Both outfits use so-called "secret formulas" to predict the weather that they keep closely guarded, and only time — and winter — will tell which one has it right.

SEE ALSO: Soggy Winter Predicted For Georgia: AccuWeather Forecast

— By Gus Saltonstall and Deb Belt

Graphics courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.