[homesteadforty]

I didn't want to hijack the thick apple peel thread but was wondering who uses natural signs to forecast weather... particularly winter.

Everything I've seen says it's going to be a cold one... thick peels on apples, onions and potatoes... squirrels working overtime to gather acorns and nuts... wooly worms have very narrow stripe or are all black and my horses are already getting an extra thick winter coat.

There were also a lot of foggy mornings in August... the number of these equals the number of snowstorms for the winter.

I don't know what y'all believe but I've kept a weather diary for years and found that these methods are as or more accurate than the "professional" meteorologists.

 

[mustangsally17]

I didn't want to hijack the thick apple peel thread but was wondering who uses natural signs to forecast weather... particularly winter.

Everything I've seen says it's going to be a cold one... thick peels on apples, onions and potatoes... squirrels working overtime to gather acorns and nuts... wooly worms have very narrow stripe or are all black and my horses are already getting an extra thick winter coat.

There were also a lot of foggy mornings in August... the number of these equals the number of snowstorms for the winter.

I don't know what y'all believe but I've kept a weather diary for years and found that these methods are as or more accurate than the "professional" meteorologists.

I live in Minnesota and it is currently snowing.
:facepalm:

 

[sdnapier]

I live in Minnesota and it is currently snowing.
:facepalm:

So very sorry. It just seems too soon.

 

[mustangsally17]

So very sorry. It just seems too soon.

It is early. We just finished putting up hay and have been working on putting up more wood for the winter. Plus some needed repairs. Summer was short and went too fast this year for farmers.

 

[geo in mi]

I use an outdoor thermometer, a calendar , and Intellicast.

geo

 

[han_solo]

Last year i had heard about ant hills. If they are "tall" then that means a lot of snow had about 20 inches this yr. Seemed tall to me from the ones i saw around the building. They seem tall again this year.

 

[myheaven]

I need to go see what the beavers say. last year they were dead on. We're about to be nailed with snow tonight. This is the 3 rd earliest we have ever had.

 

[Becka03]

I love winter- I know I am in the minority- but I can't wait to be snowed in

 

[DaleK]

I forecast that we'll have a winter again this year. Some forecasters will get it right, some wrong, but none will be fired either way

 

[gibbsgirl]

I love hearing about the ways to predict winter weather. please post more info yall!

btw, I don't mind the cold, although I function better in the heat if I have to pick one of the two. what drives me bonkers about the winter is when the wind and freezing rain, etc are just terrible, but they say it's not bad enough to cancel school. if school doesn't cancel NOTHING around here gets cancelled, and it's so frustrating to drive my kids around late in the dark after a school day in terrible weather conditions just to they don't miss something. sometimes we just don't go cause it's not worth it, but I hate the example it sets for good judgement. just because it's not horrible enough to cancel school during daylight hours, doesn't mean it is safe to go out to their afterschool/evening activities in the dark. but, by golly, no one seems to use their brains on this. it's flat out -- "we only cancel if school cancels for the day"...so frustrating.

 

[soulsurvivor]

I've got a big pumpkin sitting on the back patio. If it's wet it's rain, icy it's frost, white it's snow, yellow it's the neighbor's dog again. He's one of them little yapping mop heads that stands on his front feet and whizzes up in the air. Just so cute. :facepalm:

 

[han_solo]

I need to go see what the beavers say. last year they were dead on. We're about to be nailed with snow tonight. This is the 3 rd earliest we have ever had.

What will a beaver do?

 

[badlander]

Early on I was seeing a few wooley bears with broad brown bands now we are seeing mainly black ones in large numbers. DH has seen a few blond ones he says but I have no idea what that signifies as far as weather omens mean.

With last winter in mind, we are laying in wood and stocking the pantry in case we get snowed in which is a given where we live in the winter. I found that there are two things we can depend on where we live. To get mired in in the summer after a heavy rain and snowed/iced in in the winter.

 

[Wolf mom]

Yuppers - black wooly bears here this year, too. Never seen that before. Had a cool, short summer also.

Doomsday friend says we're in the beginnings of a small ice age.

 

[calliemoonbeam]

There was another thread a few weeks ago. Someone posted a link that said the blonde or white wooly bears mean a blizzard.

It got down to 40 here last night, after being in the 90s all this past week. They were predicting the upper 50s, they missed that by quite a bit, lol.

I split six persimmon seeds today, although it's still a little early. I got four knives and two spoons, no forks. In case anyone doesn't know, forks mean a mild winter, spoons mean a lot of snow, and knives mean a lot of ice. We always get ice, I sure hope we don't get more than usual!

 

[Gretchen Ann]

I don't worry about upcoming winters. I just try to prepare for the worst and if it doesn't happen, ok, it if is bad, then it is.

I find the endless chitter/chatter about weather senseless, I mean, what good does it do?

We can't change it, so prepare for the worst cold, snowy, windy weather. Prepare for your electricity to be off for an extended period of time.

If you think the weather is too bad to drive in, then don't. I made my children stay home from activities because the driving was hazardous. It didn't scar them for life.

 

[farmmaid]

I live in NY, zone 5.

1- horse has not started her winter coat
2- no geese flying south yet
3- hummers still here
4- goats just coming in heat, a month later than usual
5- having warm nights in 50's
6- no frost yet
7- tomatoes still in the garden
8- trees still hanging on their leaves

.....................................is mother nature speaking?

 

[Fennick]

I don't worry about upcoming winters. I just try to prepare for the worst and if it doesn't happen, ok, it if is bad, then it is.

I find the endless chitter/chatter about weather senseless, I mean, what good does it do?

We can't change it, so prepare for the worst cold, snowy, windy weather. Prepare for your electricity to be off for an extended period of time.

If you think the weather is too bad to drive in, then don't. I made my children stay home from activities because the driving was hazardous. It didn't scar them for life.

What good does it do??? For starters, it's a universal social ice breaker between friends and strangers and enemies alike. It's common ground, something shared, something that everyone can relate to. It brings people together in compassion, understanding and sympathy. It's something that people can compare notes on and give good advice about to other people who may be unprepared and unaware of what is the best way to prepare for the worst.

Chitter chatter about the weather is the very oldest, longest on-going conversation between all people in the world and it will never get too old and out of style. If you don't like it you don't have to join in on the chatter but don't knock other people for talking about the weather or get sarcastic about the weather not scarring people for life. Some people have lost everything and been scarred for life for not having been informed and prepared for the worst.

 

[melco]

We live in NW Georgia and about a week ago I found a white wooley. I have never heard of them until about two weeks prior.
I enjoy wondering what the winter will do. I love being home when it snows, hate to be on the roads as we are not prepared in this area for it.

 

[hawgsquatch]

There is plenty of folklore about weather and natural signs. Beavers will build thicker houses before hard winters and here in the PNW the Salmon and Steelhead will grow larger more robust eggs when it is going to be a wet winter and smaller more plentiful ones when there is going to be a dry winter. The geese still haven't shown up here yet and it is only two weeks until the season starts. I am predicting a nice long Indian summer then a devastatingly sever and wet winter here.