2025/26 Winter Season Forecast: What You Can Expect in Canada According to Farmers’ Almanac & Old Farmer’s Almanac

Winter officially arrives in 118 days, and here is a look at what the Old Farmer’s Almanac and Farmers’ Almanac have predicted for the 2025-26 summer season in Canada.

Farmers’ Almanac

Farmers’ Almanac was founded in 1818 and uses a “top secret mathematical and astronomical formula that relies on sunspot activity, tidal action, planetary position and many other factors” to predict long-range weather.

The Farmers’ Almanac is forecasting a return to what it calls a “classic Canadian winter” for the 2025-2026 season, with much of the country expected to face deep freezes, heavy snowfalls, and intense storms.

The coldest weather is expected in the Prairie provinces—Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba—as well as northern Quebec and Labrador. These regions will likely see Arctic air dominate in January and February, bringing prolonged deep freezes and dangerous wind chills.

Southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and coastal British Columbia are forecast to experience variable conditions. While brief thaws may occur, sudden cold snaps remain likely. Southern coastal B.C. could see short warming periods in February and March, though accompanied by rain and strong winds.

Snowfall is expected to be heaviest in Newfoundland, Labrador, and Quebec, where multiple nor’easters and blizzards are predicted. Southern and eastern Ontario may face frequent snowstorms, icy conditions, and lake-effect snow. The Prairies are forecast to experience blizzards brought by Alberta Clippers, while interior British Columbia could see significant mountain snow from Pacific systems.

The wettest regions are expected to be coastal British Columbia, which may receive torrential rain and face localized flooding, and the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, where rain-snow mixes and storm surges are possible.

Key seasonal highlights include unsettled weather in late December 2025, a stormy and frigid January, widespread snow and blizzards in February, and a transitional March with lingering cold in the North and East.

Overall, the Almanac projects a winter marked by severe cold, frequent snow, and volatile storms nationwide.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

North America’s oldest continuously published periodical (1792), Old Farmer’s Almanac, provides weather forecasts using Robert Bailey Thomas, the publication’s founder’s formula, refining it based on 30-year averages from NOAA. It is updated every decade and now incorporates sunspots and other solar activities to refine predictions by comparing them with historical weather data.

The 2026 edition of the Old Farmer’s Almanac forecasts a warmer-than-usual winter across large parts of Canada, with above-average precipitation expected in several regions.

According to the forecast for the 2025–2026 season, areas from Atlantic Canada through Nunavut, Quebec, western Ontario, parts of the Prairies, southern Yukon and sections of British Columbia will see more rain and snow than normal. Other provinces and territories are expected to receive average to below-average precipitation.

In Atlantic Canada, conditions are projected to be warmer with increased precipitation and snowfall. The coldest spells are likely in early and mid-December and much of January, while the heaviest snow is anticipated in mid-November, December, and early January.

Southern Quebec is also expected to be warmer with above-normal precipitation but less snowfall than average. Northern Quebec, by contrast, is predicted to be both mild and snowy.

Ontario will see contrasting conditions: temperatures below normal in the east and above normal in the west. Precipitation and snowfall are also split, with drier conditions in the east and wetter, snowier weather to the west. The coldest periods are forecast for mid- to late December, late January, and early February.

Across the southern Prairies, including Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg, temperatures are predicted to be above normal, with more precipitation but less snowfall than average.

Southern British Columbia, including Vancouver, will also be warmer, with more precipitation in the south but drier conditions in the north. Snowfall is expected to be lighter overall.

In the North, the Yukon will be milder, with wetter conditions and more snow in the south, while the Northwest Territories will be warmer but drier, with below-average snowfall. Nunavut is expected to be mild and snowy.