KIRKSVILLE, Mo. and OTTUMWA, Iowa — In August, we reported that “The Farmers’ Almanac” predicts a cold winter with average snowfall and that “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” predicts the Heartland will have a mild winter with less than normal snowfall and precipitation.

On October 17, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its winter outlook.

A weak LaNiña formation in the Pacific played a role in NOAA creating this outlook.

When a LaNiña is present, the Heartland will generally look wetter than normal, but this will generally not affect temperatures.

For this winter, the Heartland will have an equal chance of seeing above or below normal precipitation, according to NOAA.

That’s the same forecast when it comes to temperatures.

As a reminder, the precipitation outlook is for liquid precipitation and does not include snowfall.

NOAA’s outlook also indicated that drought conditions are likely to continue for the Heartland this winter.