Who'd have thought? The Farmer's Almanac — which uses a secret "astronomical formula" to predict weather well in advance of when scientists can — was wrong about Toronto having a cold and snowy winter season this year.

This, according to the actual weather experts at Environment Canada (and also the Weather Network at the beginning of December.)

With the holidays now behind us, Torontonians must now suffer through what most people regard as the worst two months of the year: January and February.

Toronto

beautiful city, very friendly people, great restaurants, so many things to do and see



but



weather sucks for four weeks of the year -----> mid Jan to mid Feb (coldest four weeks of the year) pic.twitter.com/hYJCJWpQEk — Infinitus Capital (@InfinitusCap) January 2, 2020

Known for being cold, grey and mostly devoid of fun, this period usually ends in March, but can last until May, when we're all about ready to sell off our assets and move to Mexico. It's also when we've traditionally seen brutal weather events, like the Polar Vortex.

Short days and grumpy faces are inevitable, but there's a silver lining for the rest of winter of 2020: We'll have decent temperatures for the most of it. Relatively speaking.

"We have already seen the weather trailer sort of speak and it is milder than normal," said Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips to CP24 on Thursday, which posted temperatures well above seasonal with high of 6 C.

"Our models are showing more of the same for January, February and March."

#DYK? According to @cca_reports, temperatures in Canada are rising at twice the global average. Find out how the #GoC is helping communities adapt and prepare for the effects of climate change. https://t.co/2QadpPZnWC #Adaptation pic.twitter.com/AaqNFJbctb — Environment Canada (@environmentca) January 2, 2020

Phillips attributes the recent warm snap and lack of snow to the presence of a jet stream north of Ontario which has been keeping arctic air at bay.

We could still see some dangerously cold days ahead, says Phillips, but there will likely be far less of them than we saw last year.

"We have not cheated winter, you never do that," he told CP24. "But certainly it has been slow to arrive in its gusto."