January 1 is just days away, but some are still debating whether 2021 is just another year in the decade that began in 2020 or if the New Year is the start of a new decade.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, which has been advising American farmers and others about the weather and how it influences our lives since 1818, the year 2021 is the start of the new decade:
For a decade to begin, we must start with the year ending with 1 (2021) and finish with 10, or so far as chronology is concerned, a year ending in 0 (2030). For example, January 1, 2001, opened the 21st century and the start of the new millennium, just as the year 1 A.D. marked the beginning of the Christian era.
As an analogy, think of going into a building in which the ground floor is listed not as the first floor, but as the lobby. So the first floor is actually one flight above you. So if you were to go into an elevator located in the lobby and wanted to go 10-flights up, you would actually end up on the ninth floor (if you were to assume that the lobby as the “zero” floor). But if you assume the lobby as the “first” floor and went 10-flights up, you would end up on the tenth floor.
The bottom line, the Almanac said 2021 is like being in the lobby and after ten flights — or years — we will arrive at the 2030, the end of the decade.
But according to the Almanac, the New Year will also bring what it is calling “The Winter of the Great Divide,” with weather that will vary from coast to coast.
“Remember last year’s almost snow-free winter in the Northeast? Well, this year our prediction is very different, with the possibility of a blizzard hitting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states during the second week of February,” the Almanac predicted. “This storm may bring up to 1-2 feet of snow to cities from Washington, D.C., to Boston, Massachusetts!”
The Great Lakes region will be snowy as usual, but the northern parts of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and parts of Washington and Oregon will have more snow than usual this winter.
“Eastern Ohio and Kentucky can expect a significant snowfall in the beginning of February, and the Southern Plains are on target to receive copious amounts of snow, sleet, and rain later on that same month,” the Almanac reported.
The eastern United States may find March providing the final blast of winter. For areas across the desert southwest, Arizona and southern California, the Almanac predicts a dry and mild winter.
You can find out how the Almanac predicts the weather here.
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