Farmer’s Almanac predicts a whopper of a winter

The signals using the Farmer's Almanac are mixed when it comes to predictions for snowfall this winter. According to the long-running publication, a foggy August and warm weather in the first two weeks of August, which Aroostook County definitely experienced, indicate a long snowy winter. The almanac also says wasps will build their nests high up if there is going to be a snowy winter. Folks discovered this nest, which was about the size of a soccer ball, at a barbecue fundraiser at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center on Saturday. The organizers of the event placed barriers between the nest and the people there for the barbecue. The nest was only 4 feet above the ground. Combined with fog and hot August days, the usual signals seem mixed for snow predictions this winter. (Andrew Birden)

The 2019 Farmer’s Almanac was published Monday, and with it comes a hotly (or coldly, as the case may be) anticipated bit of meteorological prognosticating: the Almanac’s yearly winter predictions.

Gas up those snowblowers, folks: it’s going to be a long, cold, snowy winter.

“Contrary to some stories floating around on the internet, our time-tested, long-range formula is pointing towards a very long, cold and snow-filled winter,” Farmer’s Almanac editor Peter Geiger said in a statement Monday. “We stand by our forecast and formula, which accurately predicted most of the winter storms last year as well as this summer’s steamy, hot conditions.”

Utilizing its mathematical and astronomical formula that Geiger said was developed in 1818, the winter of 2018 and 2019 will feature “arctic air, blustery, bitter winds, sharp drops in temperatures, and widespread snow showers and squalls,” with a particularly nasty snowstorm predicted for March 20-23. Geiger said it’s likely that snow will begin in December 2018, and wintry conditions will delay the onset of spring into late March.

To read the rest of “Farmer’s Almanac predicts a whopper of a winter,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Emily Burnham, please follow this link to the BDN online.