Last winter, Oklahoma saw a polar vortex and La Niña temperatures create some of the coldest daily temperatures in the state's history. But this isn't always the case for winter in the Sooner State.
The Old Farmer's Almanac has predicted that La Niña, the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central parts of the equatorial Pacific, will go back to neutral for the 2025 winter.
However, a neutral La Niña means more volatility in the weather.
Here's what sort of winter Oklahomans could see this year, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac and the Farmer's Almanac.
Old Farmer's Almanac: No La Niña winter, chance of polar vortex
The Old Farmer's Almanac states that last year's La Niña weather has already transitioned to neutral.
During La Niña events, the northern part of the United States typically sees colder and stormier winter conditions, while it is warmer and less stormy across the south. These conditions went on to yield a few new daily low temperatures in February 2025 in Lawton, Wichita Falls and Oklahoma City.
However, with the more neutralized La Niña, there will be more variety in rainfall, temperature swings and changes in storm patterns across different regions, the almanac reads.
The polar vortex may see some inconsistency throughout the winter, the Almanac reports. The displaced vortex could send bursts of frigid air and snow deep into the United States.
"Think of it as nature’s winter playlist—now in shuffle mode," the Old Farmer's Almanac wrote.
Farmer's Almanac prediction of the winter
Cold and wet conditions are expected this winter in the South Central states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico) and Texas, too.
"We don't see too much snow, but we're feeling like some of these more northern areas in this region may have icy rain and the cold conditions, so you might want to make sure you have deicer and your boots ready," Farmers' Almanac Editor Sandi Duncan told USA TODAY.
Did the Farmers' Almanac get its winter weather prediction right last year?
The Farmer's Almanac, which differs from the Old Farmer's Almanac, mentions in their newest edition how its winter 2024-2025 forecast "for a mild winter in Texas and the Southern Plains hit the mark, and we correctly called the cold weather over the Northern Plains and Great Lakes."
The Almanac also notes, "We also accurately forewarned of a very cold spell at the end of January," perhaps referencing some of winter 2024-2025's milestones including the arctic air mass that contributed to cold weather advisories that month. "But La Niña threw a curveball, leaving us with fewer wet weather events than expected," the Almanac said.
February also brought dangerously cold temperatures but overall, the contiguous U.S. had the third warmest winter on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with an average temperature of 34.1 degrees F, 1.9 degrees above average.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma winter weather could get icy: Farmer's Almanac 2025 outlook
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