Gather Your Nuts the Farmers Almanac Predicts Fridge Winter

One of the signs we are in for a rough winter is squirrels start gathering nuts earlier than usual, and more acorns on the ground than usual.

Get your down jacket out and make sure you can find your mittens because all signs point to a very cold winter in Michigan.

2021 Farmers Almanac 

In its 230th year, the Farmers Almanac is predicting that Michigan is one state that is in for one of its coldest winters in years. The editor of the almanac, Janice Stillman said that this could be one of the worst winters that we have seen in years.

The Farmers Almanac has been predicting weather way before satellites and computer programs.  So just how accurate are their predictions? The publication, which has been around since George Washington was President likes to say that they are 80% accurate.  That number is disputed by many however look how many times our forecast is inaccurate, even with the use of computers.  I got to give the Almanac credit.

Just what formula they use to predict our upcoming weather is a well-kept secret., that is locked away in a black box.  There are, however, many ways to predict what our upcoming winter will be like. These are according to farmers' and old wives' tales.

Thicker than normal skin on an onion is one way to tell if we are in for a rough winter. I actually had a farmer confirm this one, and he said that is his go-to winter weather forecaster.

A few other ways to predict the severity of the upcoming winter are:

Raccoons with thicker than normal tails and bright bands.

 Spiders spinning larger webs

 Thick hair on the neck of a cow

 More frogs are seen in the month of August

 Finally, and one of the most annoying is the early arrival of crickets in your house,(which has already happened at my home)

The best advice, make sure your snow thrower is in working condition, you have a shovel and you know where your ice scraper is.

This is Michigan for crying on loud, we got this!

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