Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Farmers Almanac at odds with government over weather

An annual US publication with a track record for accurately predicting the weather found itself at odds Monday with the government weather service over what winter is going to be like in the United States.

The 191st edition of the US Farmers' Almanac, which goes on sale on Tuesday, predicts a colder than usual winter from Maine to normally warm Florida, in the eastern half of the United States, with excellent skiing conditions in the northeast.

The western half of the United States will enjoy mild conditions with near- to below-normal precipitation, the Almanac says.

"Overall, Mother Nature is showing no mercy to the east and being a little more forgiving in the west," the book, which calls itself a compendium of facts, predicts.

The National Weather Service's (NWS) forecast, meanwhile, had heart-warming words for Americans grappling with high fuel prices.

Much of the United States, including the east, will enjoy higher than normal temperatures this winter, with only the northwest left out of the above-normal trend, NWS meteorologist Edward O'Lenic told AFP....

AFP via TerraDaily