Farmers’ Almanac predicts another nasty winter
August 24th, 2014 by Ric Hanson
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — The folks at the Farmers’ Almanac are feeling a bit smug after correctly predicting the past nasty winter, which featured relentless snowstorms and a polar vortex. Editors of the 198-year-old publication in Maine are projecting more of the same in a few months. The latest edition officially goes on sale this week. It forecasts colder-than-normal and wetter-than-usual weather for three-quarters of the country east of the Rocky Mountains.
The publication, not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer’s Almanac, bases its long-range forecasts on a secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles. Modern science doesn’t put much stock in the formula, but modern meteorologists sometimes struggle with long-range forecasts. The national Climate Prediction Center projected milder weather last winter.