One word: layers.

According to the Almanac, which was founded in 1792 and boasts an 80 percent historical track record of accuracy, "Winter will be colder than normal."

Twin Cities temperatures from December through February average between 8 and approximately 27 degrees. But the Almanac, as well as NOAA forecasters, say La Nina or "a cold event" will accompany Old Man Winter.

It's the result of colder than normal surface ocean temperatures. Those temps will give us snowier periods from mid-December into late February — 45 to 52 inches of snow fall historically in the Cities — as well as extended spells of harsh wind chills, predicted to read minus 40 degrees.

Contrast those numbers with 2015-16's cold season. Snow accumulation stopped shy of 40 inches. The godforsaken periods when wind and air colluded to drop the mercury below zero were confined to a few days.

According to the Almanac, we should expect a winter more closely resembling what we endured in 2013-14, when the Twin Cities suffered through 53 days of subzero temps.