2 out of 3

predictors

say yes 

to snow

By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

Sitting with the windows open in November, it's hard to imagine that all signs point to a snowy winter in northeastern Connecticut.

The Old Farmer's Almanac  2017 uses a secret formula created by the founder Robert B. Thomas in 1792 and sunspots, magnetic storms on the Sun, are key to the formula. The Almanac uses "solar science, sunspots and other solar activity, climatology, the study of prevailing weather patterns and meteorology."

Heavier than normal snowfall is predicted with the most snow occurring in mid-to-late January and early-to-mid February. April and May will see more rain than normal.

Toward the end of November the predictions are for snow to rain on the 29th and 30th.

Decembers snows should hit between Dec. 22 and 29. In January snow is predicted between the 19th and 25th. Snow may also fall between Jan. 26 and 31. 

February calls for a snowstorm between Feb. 10 and 15, then cold and then snow Feb. 16 to 19.

In March rain and snow is predicted between March 1 and 4, March 5 through 9 and a chance of wet snow March 29 through 31.

April will see heavy rain April 24 through 26.

The second predictions come from the inside of a persimmon.  If the seeds are in the shape of a spoon, there will be lots of snow --- lots of "shoveling. "

If we ask the Woolly Bear Caterpillar the predictions are just the opposite.  Woolly Bear Caterpillars this season are sporting a wide middle brown band. Therefore, the wider the middle brown band is, the milder the upcoming winter. 

As far as temperatures, winter temperatures will be above normal, according to Almanac predictions. The coldest periods will be in late December, early to mid- and mid-to late January and early and mid-February.

In December the temps will be 45, 6 degrees above average. 

In January temps will be 3 degrees above average at 38 degrees. 

February's temperatures will average 34 degrees which is 1 degree below average. 

In March the temperatures will be 42 which is 2 degrees below average. 

The temperatures will be 52.5 in April, 1 degree below average.