What The Old Farmer's Almanac Predicts For Fall Precipitation In Your Garden

The ultimate fall to-do list for the garden includes numerous tasks, from pruning branches to raking leaves, collecting seeds, and prepping plants for upcoming temperature drops. To help you plan out the best maintenance schedule, it helps to know what Mother Nature has in store. That's where The Old Farmer's Almanac, the best-selling annual periodical in North America, comes in.

The publication has been around since 1792, and to this day, the tome continues to be published once a year. It's filled with insider knowledge and predictions, ranging from sunrise and sunset times to moon phases, and even recipes. The Old Farmer's Almanac can also help when it comes to planting vegetables as well as with a full range of gardening jobs, thanks to its planting calendars and robust weather predictions.

For 2025, the almanac's fall weather forecast claims there will be warmer-than-usual temperatures in the west and south of the country, while the northeast will likely be chillier than usual. As for rain, much of the United States will experience precipitation that's below average levels, but Thanksgiving week is gearing up to be rainy for many. Here's exactly what to expect in the coming weeks.

Periods of excessive rain can wreak havoc on plants, so gardeners around the country will be happy to know that The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts fall precipitation levels below what we'd usually expect to see at this time of year. The Northeast, Atlantic Corridor, Appalachians, Lower Lakes, Southeast, Ohio Valley, and Florida should be prepared for scattered showers, but no long stretches of rain. Meanwhile, the Deep South and Heartland are likely to be hit with a few storms of their own, while the Pacific Northwest will swing between sunny and rainy. Finally, the Upper Midwest will be hit with some cold rain, which is likely to turn into the first snow of the season well before winter officially arrives.

When it comes to Thanksgiving week, there will be sunshine in much of the east, while rain will put a damper on celebrations in the west. Indeed, the almanac is reporting there will be non-stop showers in California and Nevada, while the southern Pacific Northwest will have the heaviest rainfall in the country. The Desert Southwest and southern Texas are also not in the clear, nor is the Ohio Valley and Heartland, as they may be hit with some scattered showers. As for what The Old Farmer's Almanac says about your garden this winter, it's predicting that the season will be, as they put it, "mostly mild — with pockets of wild!"