Farmers Almanac predicts global cooling over next 50 years, not global warming

[Hugabear]

http://www.kitv.com/weather/17426207/detail.html

<snip>
The latest edition of the Almanac said a study of solar activity and corresponding records on ocean temperatures and climate point to a cooler, not warmer, climate, for perhaps the next 50 years.
...
The almanac said its forecasts are from a reclusive prognosticator who uses a secret formula involving sunspots, planet positions and the tidal pull of the moon. They're backed up by things like acorn abundance and fog frequency.
<snip>


I can't say that I'm really familiar with the Farmers Almanac, only that it's been around for a long time. Has it been taken over by right-wingers?

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Probably not. Their long-range forecasts have always been iffy

I get them for the articles, and it is a decent, inexpensive ephemeris if you are a star-watcher (when would be a good time to view Jupiter, when and were are eclipses, things like that) with good articles on gardening. However, their weather forecasts are rarely accurate. Case in point: the 2008 almanac predicted a warmer than average summer in the Pacific northwest with average rainfall. Instead, we've been about 10 degrees cooler than average and much wetter than normal. As a result, most of the crops in eastern Washington are running 2 weeks to as much as 6 weeks late, and there have been a lot of losses in early crops due to late frosts. (Oddly enough, a cooler, wetter Pacific northwest is predicted by most global warming models.)

I wouldn't worry about the Almanac's long-range forecasts.

[Bobbieo]

2. It also has been a cooler summer in Yuma, Az and much more humid than

normal. Is this caused by the cold water coming down from the Arctic on the Calfornia Current?

[cobalt1999]

3. They've always used arcane and bizarre methods to predict the weather

It's a quaint and nostalgic reflection on the way people used to determine if the summer was going to be wet or how cold the winter would be.

I doubt anyone ever takes them seriously, including themselves.

[greenman3610]

4. deniers will cite this as "Proof" there is no GW

[Junkdrawer]

5. Whew...That 95% of scientists agree on man-made GW had me worried...

Thank GOD for the Farmers Almanac...

[Mojorabbit]

6. I think the trend is warming

but the major decrease in sunspots may contribute to some cooling in the short term. I don't think both are mutually exclusive.

[Greybnk48]

7. F@*K science!! Wooly caterpillars rule, scientists drool!!

:sarcasm: