Date: Fri 09-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Farmer's-Almanac-Hale-Thomas

Full Text:

Whither The Weather? Look To The Almanac

(with book cover)

BY SHANNON HICKS

It looks like New England is in for a snowy and cold winter this year, if you

believe in the predictions of The Old Farmer's Almanac . According to the

almanac's weather prognosticators, however, Connecticut and the region won't

be getting the worst of the country's weather.

It could be worse. We could be getting ready for a bitterly cold winter

predicted for the Midwestern states (along with much of Pennsylvania), or the

heavy snows that are predicted for the Washington, Idaho and Oregon region.

There are many ways people predict the weather, or look for weather

predictions. There are the naturally occurring events; the number of acorns on

oak trees, the thickness of corn husks, and the height paper wasps are

building their nests are all indicators old timers have been watching for

years. For the 207th year, there is also the tried-and-true Old Farmer's

Almanac .

The publication, with its familiar yellow cover, has already seen the turnover

of two centuries. But the almanac's name does not refer to old farmers , or

out-of-date predictions, whether for weather or fashion in the upcoming year.

" Old doesn't mean out-of-date, just experienced," says editor Judson Hale.

"We work all year long to ensure that every edition of the almanac is

completely new, up-to-date and of current interest to our readers." The

notation also serves to remind us that the Old Farmer's Almanac is the oldest

continuously published periodical in North America.

In the early American household, farmer's almanacs were as popular as today's

magazines. Farmer's almanacs were so prevalent in the late 18th Century that

the term came to mean a certain style of periodical published exclusively in

North America, as opposed to the "philomath" almanacs done in England.

By 1832, after having survived four decades of publication, The Farmer's

Almanac founder decided to mark the occasion by adding an adjective to his

magazine's title. Robert B. Thomas added the word "old" not to describe

farmers, but to indicate that his almanac was original, a survivor.

He also, it is believed, wanted to differentiate his farmer's almanac from all

the competitors who were using the same name. What else do you call a farmer's

almanac, after all?

(Interestingly, the word "old" was inexplicably dropped from the almanac's

title from 1836 to 1847. It was not until the 1848 edition, two years after Mr

Thomas' death, that the word returned and became a permanent part of the

title, as Mr Hale points out in his "To Patrons" editorial in the new

edition.)

So What Are We In For?

The editors of The Old Farmer's Almanac claim an 80 percent accuracy rate on a

seasonal basis.

Let's see... Last year's almanac said we would have 14 separate storms during

the winter of 1997-98, called "weather events." These weather events would

occur between November 1997 and the end of April 1998. Each weather event

included snow and each was to be separated by a period of clearing and

sunshine.

November was to be colder than normal. There was to be a heavy snowfall in

mid-December, and again in mid-March. January and February were to have

above-normal temperatures, but there was to be more snow than usual.

We were to have a white Christmas.

New England's winter for 1998-99, the 1999 Old Farmer's Almanac says, will be

"near normal in temperature," which means quite a bit colder than last winter,

especially from mid-December into early January.

The first mention of snow is for the dates of November 23-25. We will have

heavy snow in mid-November and early February, but it will be below normal

accumulations between these two times (except on the coast, where there will

be an additional heavy snow during the second week of January).

Apparently the groundhog is going to see his shadow in February, because March

is going to "roar in, bringing winter back ... heavy March snow will put us

above normal for the season."

The weather predictions are but one small aspect of The Old Farmer's Almanac .

The book is loaded with interesting little articles with all sorts of

information. Perhaps Mr Thomas thought it would be a good idea to have some

reading material handy for the farmers and their families when his weather

predictions came true and people were snowed in their homes.

This year's almanac follows the tradition of entertaining readers with

folklore, tales and other information. In addition to the 16 regional

forecasts, there are tables of measurements and conversions, frost and growing

season charts, unexpected uses for household items (did you know that to

restore some of the color to a faded fabric, you can soak it in a strong

solution of salt and water?), and even animal terminology -- how to refer to a

ant or an elephant as a male, female, young or collectively.

There are also some very interesting reads. In about a month, come

mid-November and the predicted first big snow of the season, one can cuddle up

in a blanket with a copy of The Old Farmer's Almanac for a good round of "Joe

the Crow and Other Tales," a collection of short stories and little-known crow

facts by Martha White; "A Brief History of Briefs (and Boxers, Drawers and

Breeches)," by Victoria Doudera; or find out little-known nuggets about The

King -- yes, there seems to be some information out there about Elvis Presley

that is still not well known.

Of course, if there is interest in predicting the weather on your own, The Old

Farmer's Almanac also has the answer for that. There is a column called

"Weather Rules of Thumb (Or How To Tell It's 60 Below Zero Without Looking At

A Thermometer)," by Jon Vara, and another called "How to Predict the Weather

Using a Pig Spleen."

Just like Mr Hale said: it's a bit of the old, with a bit of the new, all

wrapped up in one traditional tome.