Dig out the boots, the signs are all here.
Berries are plentiful, acorns are abundant and the professional meteorologists predict more snow than usual for New Englanders this winter.
Extended forecasts by the National Weather Service and "The Old Farmer's Almanac" point to a warmer winter than usual, but one that will bring plenty of snow.
For those who don't believe in using computers and satellites to track the weather, even the plants and animals are pointing toward a winter where residents will get lots of use from their skis and snowshoes.
White oak trees are producing lots of acorns this year, according to Philip Auger, a forester at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
Auger said he doesn't believe in the old-fashioned folklore - one of the storied signs of a "harsh and long" winter is an abundance of acorns. Tradition says: The number of acorns that drop to the ground on or around the week of Sept. 29 represents the amount of snow the region will see. The more acorns, the more snow.
And depending on where you are, but particularly in scattered spots in Rockingham County, acorns on the ground were plenteous.
"The Old Farmer's Almanac" has made predictions for more than 200 years based on solar science, climatology and meteorology, according to Heidi Stonehill, senior associate editor. But they also keep a list of the old-fashioned New England ways to predict weather.
While there are dozens of old-fashioned methods, some are more accurate than others.
Folklore that deals with plant life seems to be more accurate than some of the others, according to Stonehill.
She said the old myth about the woolly caterpillar, or woolly bear, is far from accurate. The myth goes, the wider the orange band on the critter, the milder the winter is going to be.
"There are certain folklore that happens to be more true than others," she said. "And it turns out for the woolly bear, the orange band actually indicates the age of the worm, and not temperature."
Berries, on the other hand, seem to be a little more accurate when predicting the severity of winter.
Auger said this was a stellar year for cherries, grapes, blueberries and even wild apples.
"They're just a huge volume crop," he said. "They're all a real bumper crop this year."
Berries are plentiful, acorns are abundant and the professional meteorologists predict more snow than usual for New Englanders this winter.
Extended forecasts by the National Weather Service and "The Old Farmer's Almanac" point to a warmer winter than usual, but one that will bring plenty of snow.
For those who don't believe in using computers and satellites to track the weather, even the plants and animals are pointing toward a winter where residents will get lots of use from their skis and snowshoes.
White oak trees are producing lots of acorns this year, according to Philip Auger, a forester at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
Auger said he doesn't believe in the old-fashioned folklore - one of the storied signs of a "harsh and long" winter is an abundance of acorns. Tradition says: The number of acorns that drop to the ground on or around the week of Sept. 29 represents the amount of snow the region will see. The more acorns, the more snow.
And depending on where you are, but particularly in scattered spots in Rockingham County, acorns on the ground were plenteous.
"The Old Farmer's Almanac" has made predictions for more than 200 years based on solar science, climatology and meteorology, according to Heidi Stonehill, senior associate editor. But they also keep a list of the old-fashioned New England ways to predict weather.
While there are dozens of old-fashioned methods, some are more accurate than others.
Folklore that deals with plant life seems to be more accurate than some of the others, according to Stonehill.
She said the old myth about the woolly caterpillar, or woolly bear, is far from accurate. The myth goes, the wider the orange band on the critter, the milder the winter is going to be.
"There are certain folklore that happens to be more true than others," she said. "And it turns out for the woolly bear, the orange band actually indicates the age of the worm, and not temperature."
Berries, on the other hand, seem to be a little more accurate when predicting the severity of winter.
Auger said this was a stellar year for cherries, grapes, blueberries and even wild apples.
"They're just a huge volume crop," he said. "They're all a real bumper crop this year."
As with acorns, tradition says, the more fruit, the harsher the winter.
Stonehill said there are dozens of tales - ranging from cutting up a pig's spleen to the more common one of birds migrating earlier in the fall - and plenty of old-timers still believe in them.
Wayland Elwood, 91, a Londonderry farmer, said he believes in the folklore to a certain extent. For example, he believes it's true that if hornet nests are built low to the ground, it will be a long winter.
"Oh, yes, we've noticed a lot of them low this year," he said. "I would think we're going to have a hard winter."
Some people look to the heavens for their winter forecast. Those people believe the number of meteors in the sky is directly linked to the amount of snow that will fall.
Tiffany Picard, astronomy educator at the Christa McAullife Planetarium in Concord, said she's never heard that tale, and there's probably no merit to it. But if there is, it will be a snowy winter.
"The Perseid meteor shower (in August) was nice, because there was a new moon so it was really visible," she said. "Usually, it's hard to predict the amount of meteors because it's just debris. It's just how much we can see, and we got to see some good ones this year."
And while nature specialists will still argue that the folklore is inaccurate, some understand where the theories came from.
Auger said he doesn't "buy into" any of the folklore to predict the weather. But he said the logical reason those tales probably exist is because the more berries and nuts available, the more animals have available to stock up on in the fall and feed on during a longer winter.
Despite the skepticism, the signs of nature are lining up with what the satellites track. The National Weather Service predicts average winter temperatures this year, but with more precipitation than usual, according to meteorologist John Jensenius.
He said the extended forecast for the region comes from looking at ocean currents and the patterns of El Nino and La Nina. But Jensenius is among the majority of science professionals who don't pay any attention to the centuries-old tales.
"We deal mainly with the science aspect," he said. "We don't (take it into any consideration). It probably has no bearing on the forecast."
And even for those who do believe in folklore, there's still hope for a mild, snowless winter.
Dan Hicks of Sunnycrest Farm in Londonderry said he eats an "awful lot" of apples, and the skins are no tougher than usual. According to folklore, the tougher the apple skin or the tougher the corn husk, the colder and snowier the winter will be.
Hicks is another skeptic.
"But I'm only 43, what do I know?" he said. "I know the old-timers had a way of looking at things, and all I know is in the last 10 years, all of the (different types of weather) predictions have been deadly wrong."
Signs of a long, severe winter
* Unusually warm temperatures in the first week of August
* Thick fog in August
* Cranes appear in early autumn
* Blooms of a dogwood tree are full
* Many meteors during the summer
* Tough apple skins in autumn
* Corn husks are thicker and stronger
* Acorns litter the ground on Sept. 29
* Hornets build their nests low to the ground
* Leaves wither and stay on the branches in October
* Berries are plentiful in the wild
* Birds migrate earlier than usual
* Flowers still in bloom late in autumn
* Thunder during Christmas week
Source: "The Old Farmer's Almanac"
