Fall arrives tonight; winter is coming

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – After a spectacular, summer-like weekend it’s back to work and school, and oh, by the way, fall starts tonight.

Summer comes to a halt and the autumnal equinox begins at exactly 7:29 p.m.

According to newly published 2014-2015 edition of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the word equinox comes from the Latin “equal night.” The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year the sun crosses the celestial equator.

We will gradually get fewer hours of daylight as the nights become longer than the days. That means the temperature will begin to drop as we head toward winter.

Speaking of winter, the Almanac has also prognosticated what sort of winter we can expect in the Southern Interior.

It’s going to be a warmer than normal winter with less rain or snow than usual.

The coldest periods will be from late December to mid-January, and from mid-February until the end of February. So plan your winter vacation accordingly.

The rest of Canada isn’t going to get off so lucky. The Almanac is predicting a bitterly cold winter from Calgary to Quebec.

Toronto and southwestern Ontario will experience Arctic-like temperatures, but there will be less snow, so say the Almanac’s forecasting formulas.

The Canadian winter forecast from the two-century-old publication goes on to say it will be a mild winter in Atlantic Canada with above average precipitation.

Of course you need to take any long range forecast with a grain of salt, although the Almanac claims an 80 per cent accuracy rate.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.