Although most of Canada has been enjoying a mild fall after a beautiful summer, Canadian snowbirds shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security that this winter will be mild like last year, according to the Canadian Farmer’s Almanac.

Snowbirds who plan on leaving late for their warm winter destination and coming home early may be in for a rude awakening.

The Farmer’s Almanac recently came out with their forecast for the winter 2016 - 2017 season, and it’s not pretty. They’re predicting an early, “colder-than-normal winter for three quarters of Canada”. The prediction goes on to say that “Exceptionally cold–if not downright frigid–winter weather will predominate over parts of the Rockies, Prairies, Great Lakes, Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador are expected to be cold and flaky. In contrast, milder-than-normal temperatures will prevail over British Columbia”. February looks to be particularly bad, with “some locations experiencing temperatures as low as 40 below zero”.

While the Almanac’s predictions aren’t always right, snowbirds may want to consider planning an early escape and late return to Canada this year to avoid the deep freeze, unless of course, you’re one of the lucky ones in BC!