All good things…

Published 9:10 am Wednesday, August 27, 2014

For those of us whose lawns by this time of year have usually finished baking to a nice golden brown, the respite this summer from the oppressive heat and humidity our neck of the woods tends to produce has been a treat. The abundant rainfall has also made for grass that’s unusually green for this time of year.

So when “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” arrived in the mail this week, we were curious to see what the strangely accurate predictor of weather had in store for us in the coming year.

The Almanac, which has been published faithfully since 1792 and claims to have an 80 percent success rate at forecasting the weather a year in advance, says this about the Southeast – including our little slice of Southeastern Virginia – for the coming year:

Winter will be colder and drier than normal, with near- to above-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in early to mid-December, from late December through early January, and in mid- and late January. The snowiest periods will be in early and mid-January.

April and May will be a warmer than normal. Rainfall will be below normal in the north and slightly above in the south. Watch for an early tropical storm threat in mid- to late May.

Summer will bring near-normal temperatures, on average, with the hottest periods in early to mid-June, mid- to late July, and mid- to late August. Rainfall will be below normal in the north and above in the south. Watch for a tropical storm threat in mid-July.

September and October will be warmer and drier than normal.

Oh well. As they say, all good things must come to an end.