Farmer’s Almanac Warns Illinois of January Snow Event

Weather is a funny thing. While even the most modern computer models struggle to predict severe weather events, there are many who still stick to tradition when it comes to what the weather future holds. If you're in that second camp, you might be interested to know that Farmer's Almanac is pinpointing a specific week in January when it believes Illinois will have a major snow event.

Let's clear up a potential point of confusion from the get go. If you've heard that Farmer's Almanac is discontinuing operations in 2026, that's the "old" Farmer's Almanac. The "new" Farmer's Almanac proudly says they are "still going strong". This new winter outlook for early 2026 for Illinois comes from them.

The first half of January looks pleasant as even the NOAA Climate Prediction Center shows that most of Illinois can expect way above normal temperatures.

The "new" Farmer's Almanac says that potential trouble is brewing starting on January 21, 2026. It simply says " Snowstorm, then sunny; turning frigid". I did find some information from the Climate Prediction Center that seems to align with this belief that Illinois could see some type of major precipitation. Here's their outlook for January for precipitation chances. Notice that Illinois is in the well-above normal possibility range.

This is not a prediction or forecast, but simply an outlook of possibilities that Farmer's Almanac believes is possible for Illinois. It it accurate? We'll all find out soon enough as the new year is set to begin in just a few days from the time of this writing.