There are a lot of old wives’ tales about how to predict a harsh winter during the fall. A lot of them are ridiculous and wrong, but these ones here… these ones here are tried and true, 100%, bet your bottom dollar.
“Ok, the Farmers’ Almanac prediction for a Numbingly Cold winter is out, but what are the real experts saying? A wonderful friend of Ray Geiger, (Cleveland weather guru – Dick Goddard) put together a laundry list of “signs” of nature. We featured these in the 1978 edition and it is still relevant today.”
- Related: Farmers’ Almanac 2023/24 Winter Forecast: A Return Of Traditional Winter Weather: The Brrr Is Back!
20 Signs of a Hard Winter Ahead
- Thicker than normal corn husks
- Woodpeckers sharing a tree
- Early arrival of the Snowy owl
- Early departure of geese and ducks
- Early migration of the Monarch butterfly
- Thick hair on the nape (back) of the cow’s neck
- Heavy and numerous fogs during August
- Raccoons with thick tails and bright bands
- Mice eating ravenously into the home
- Early arrival of crickets on the hearth
- Spiders spinning larger than usual webs and entering the house in great numbers
- Pigs gathering sticks
- Insects marching a beeline rather than meandering
- Early seclusion of bees within the hive
- Unusual abundance of acorns
- Muskrats burrowing holes high on the river bank
- “See how high the hornet’s nest, ‘twill tell how high the snow will rest”
- Narrow orange band in the middle of the Woollybear caterpillar warns of heavy snow
- The squirrel gathers nuts early to fortify against a hard winter
- Frequent halos or rings around the sun or moon forecast numerous snowfalls
All of these factual winter forecasting tools come from our friends at the Farmers’ Almanac:
A post nearly 10 years old. These guys do a great job at keeping the content fresh, original and something we all want to read.
There’s an acorn mine field on my way to campus… I keep waiting to get knocked by one of those suckers on my way to class. Must mean good things for this winter according to reason #15. 😀
Geese have been flying North around here lately. What does that mean?
Mice are always eating ravenously into my home.
I’ve seen some narrow orange bands on the caterpillars…