I was on a 4 mile run the other day and I came across a Woolly Worm. And it reminded me of an old but very well known folktale. I remember hearing about this particular one quite often when growing up. Folklore has always been fascinating to me. All types of folklore really, but especially folklore to do with weather and forecasting the winter ahead.
Take a look at this little dude.
The thought behind the Woolly Worm and forecasting the winter ahead is that the more narrow the brown / tan band in the middle, the colder and more snowy the winter will be. Now the question is, How accurate is this folklore? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Dr. C.H. Curran, former curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, tested the woolly worms accuracy back in the 1950's. His surveys found an 80% accuracy rate for the woolly worms and winter weather predictions. Which I think is pretty impressive! Now you could take that information and run with it, Call it quits.. Or.. We could look a little deeper. According to what I've been able to find, Other researchers have not been able to replicate what Curran was able to find when it came to the caterpillars and that level of accuracy in winter forecasting. Today entomologists agree that woolly worms are not accurate predictors of winter weather. Many variables may contribute to the changes in the caterpillar's coloration. Things such as larval stage, food availability, temperature or moisture during development, age, and even species.
So as I said above, it honestly depends who you ask. What do you believe? Accurate? or Lucky? Either way, folklore is fun.
Another cool thing I found are these huge leaves.
I found these in my back yard this evening after all the rain and gusty winds we had. You can see how big they are as I use my hand for a comparison. Leaves and even acorns are another cool weather folklore tool for winter forecasting.
A couple examples are.
Leaves that cling to their trees later into autumn foreshadow a severe winter.
Ground that is covered by acorns in the fall will be covered by snow throughout winter.
The brighter the leaf colors in fall, the colder and snowier will be the winter.
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What are some old weather folklore tales you remember? And what are your favorite ones that you think could be useful?
I hope you all have a good night. And as always, Thank you for reading.
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