Forecast for a mild winter

Now that I've read the Old Farmer's Almanac For Kids, I wish I had taken a better look at the woolly bear caterpillars that were all over our yard this fall. As I recall, they had wide brown stripes in the center with slim black stripes on the ends. That would be good news, since a wide brown stripe in the center indicates a mild winter. If the front black stripe were wide, winter would start with weeks of cold weather. It would end with weeks of cold weather if the rear black stripe were wide.

The woolly bear caterpillars will winter under bark or inside logs. In spring, they will form cocoons and later emerge as Isabella tiger moths. There are some great pictures at cirrusimage.com.

The 2009 version of the Old Farmer's Almanac promises to be a lot of fun. Their website
has some intriguing weather related information about Stonehenge, Chichen-Itza, and Chaco Canyon, with links to more detailed info.