While I am not addicted to The Old Farmer’s Almanac unlike so many others, I am often intrigued with what I learn when I do take a dip into its contents.
With the oppressive heat of the recent weeks, I searched for what the forecast allows for the next fortnight, hoping that the thermometer will be trending downward.
Not likely, unfortunately. We all know that October usually is when we can expect the temperatures to give us relief from late summer’s debilitating heat and humidity.
Looks like it will be sometime down the road when we can get out our sweaters, which means that the firewood on my side porch will not be utilized for a while.
This time of the year, I am always thinking about sweater wearing, fire building, and planning to find my way to the Chattahoochee for that glorious opportunity to catch a couple of rainbow trout.
October also means that we won’t be drenched in perspiration when we follow our favorite football team. The longrange forecast is that this weekend, the weather should be in the 80s when Georgia plays its second game of the season.
However, it is not often that the weather forecasters get it right.
Perhaps I should place a call to my favorite Marine scientist, Samantha Joye, and she if she can shed light on the heat index for the rest of the summer.
She reads The Old Farmer’s Almanac, dating to her time growing up on a farm in South Carolina.
Likely any scientist would remind any inquisitor that global warming is certainly a factor in what seem to be quirky weather trends.
Looking back, I always felt that we were going to get cooler temperatures soon after Labor Day.
At some point, the weather will mellow and we will move into October, the greatest month of the year, but we need to send up prayers of thanksgiving for the advent of air conditioning. When I finally get to the Chattahoochee and cast away for a nice rainbow, I will forget about having to fret about the heat during the month of September.
Conversations about the weather stimulate recall of the Mark Twain quote, A great, great deal has been said about the weather, but very little has ever been done. While those words are clever and poignant, he was not the author, or so the experts say.
A modicum of research will confirm that while the publishers of almanacs claim to be accurate 80% of the time, studies confirm that they get it right only about 50% of the time.
That makes sense when you become aware that The Old Farmer’s Almanac is published in September and forecasts the weather months in advance—like a dozen or more.
Credibility with the almanac remains high with most subscribers, and that has been going on since 1792, which is how long the almanac has been published. We can forgive them if their vague interpretation of their accuracy continues to make their findings and preachments credible.
According to the internet, The independent global forecast evaluations by ForecastWatch rank The Weather Company (which powers The Weather Channel) as the world’s most accurate weather forecaster.
All I know is that September is far from my favorite month and when October gets here, I feel like I have felt after paying off a 90-day note at the bank—all is right with the world.