We have the first major weather prediction for winter and it’s a doozy

OK guys, we’ve gotta talk about something a little hard. Because it’s summer, so of course we never want to envision the end of the warm happy sunlight, but alas, winter is coming. (Cue the Game of Thrones theme song.) And unfortunately (or perhaps not, depending on how you feel about snow!), the Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a winter fit for any White Walker.

Some background info, in case you’re a little confused: compiled in Dublin, New Hampshire, the Old Farmer’s Almanac is believed to be the oldest continually published periodical on the continent, and it’s been around for a whopping 224 years. It provides predictive info on weather, tides, celestial happenings, and much more, as well as recipes and household tips.

Of course, this isn’t something that scientists deem to be perfectly accurate; the weather predictions are based on a secret formula designed by the almanac founder Robert B. Thomas (locked in a black box in the offices — cool, right?). Utilizing solar cycles, meteorology, and solar cycles, the almanac estimates how much precipitation and temperature will deviate from averages calculated by the government. However, no matter how scientists feel about it, many swear by it, and the editorial team defends its overall accuracy. Hey, weather predictions on TV aren’t exactly perfectly accurate, so we’re willing to keep an open mind.

This year’s almanac is due in the coming week, and it’s predicting this year’s winter to be a doozy. “Just about everybody who gets snow will have a White Christmas in one capacity or another,” editor Janice Stillman told the AP.

If you’re a New Englander, you’ll be getting way more snow and way lower temperatures. In parts of the South, you’ll get plenty of icy conditions, while Midwest dwellers will be getting “frigid” weather. And if you’re in the Pacific Northwest, we know you don’t see much snow, but that’s gonna change for you: the snowiest periods will be mid-December, early to mid-January, and mid- to late February. So, like, the entire winter, pretty much. If you’re a snow-lover, congratulations! If not, prepare to hunker down in front of the fire and stockpile sweaters and hot chocolate, because you’re gonna need them.

Those in Boston, don’t worry just yet. We know you got a whopper of a winter last year — 110 inches of snow! — but the Old Farmers’ Almanac doesn’t call for as much this year.

OK, enough winter talk. The almanac is also predicting the largest supermoon in decades during November 2016, as well as an above-normal rainfall in California for the first half of winter — but that will dry up and the drought will keep on keeping on. “We don’t expect a whole lot of relief,” Stillman told the AP.

Well, the good news here is that we still have over a month of summer, and then a beautiful fall ahead. FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES, GUYS. We’ll keep those White Walkers at bay.

(Image via HBO)