The age-old Agriculture tool, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been around since 1792 predicting the weather and charting natural events like the tides and the cycles of the moon to keep those in Agriculture and folks in general in the know. Even in this technology-driven age we live in, The Old Farmer’s Almanac’s forecasts and predictions are highly respected, with the original secret forecasting formula used by the Almanac’s founder still in use today (along with climatology, meteorology and more). As illustration, a WWII German spy apprehended in New York City had a copy of the Farmer’s Almanac on him. It goes without saying that he wasn’t using it to figure out when to plant corn.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac claims an accuracy rate of around 80 percent, with studies into their forecasting precision coming out to about 50 percent. However, they are often spot-on. Unfortunately, they’ve predicted quite a nasty winter this year. Basically, they’re calling for colder-than-normal temperatures and snow for the parts of the country that are used to snow and ice in the parts of the country that aren’t.
However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, is predicting an El Nino weather pattern so strong that some have dubbed it “Bruce Lee.” The effects are a warmer and drier winter for the Northwest, Midwest and Northeast. Southeastern states like Florida will see a cooler but wetter than normal winter. Similarly, AccuWeather calls for severe thunderstorms for just about all of Florida this winter season. With the rain already seen this summer in the Sunshine State, a winter full of thunderstorms may just create the Sunshine Island! However, whether you should prepare for extreme cold, heavy snow, drought, rain or severe thunderstorms in terms of the weather this winter, it’s like most things: only time will tell.
