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An Almanac Minute: Woolly Worm

According to folklore, the woolly worm's stripes predict winter weather. Watch this short video and tell us what you think!

Read more about the history and weather-predicting abilities of the woolly worm.

 

 

 

Comments

If the wooley worm is all

By Sue Hutt

If the wooley worm is all white it's going to be a very bad winter.

I only saw a few and they

By Cntrygrl504

I only saw a few and they were completely black with no brown at all. Everything I have read so far states we are going to be in for a snowy winter. I am in the I-95 corridor in Stafford, VA. We have also had acorns falling since August.

I have been told by landscape

By Annieloonie

I have been told by landscape architechs, when wasps, nest high in branches, it is an indicator of high snow volumes, rather than nest in or near the ground..The higher the nests, the more the snow..

I have seen an all black

By PK

I have seen an all black wooly worm on my door this past week...what does that signify?

Looks like a tough winter

By ptk347

Looks like a tough winter ahead

I'm a photographer and on my

By Mossyoakgirl637

I'm a photographer and on my many outdoor adventures I have seen quite a few of these wooly little friends and they are all telling me here in NE Pennsylvania, that we are going to have another mild winter by sporting mostly brown fuzz. I was raised that the more brown the milder the winter... brown is a good color LOL. I know before I upset someone, the cold kills off bugs and insects. (brown,brown,brown,)

I have not seen any this year

By mrs c

I have not seen any this year either in MCcreary co ky but if the weather we are having right now is what to look forward to we will have a cold wet winter hopefully alot of snow. and the almanac sure hit it for this week cold,&snow and giving alot more coming i love it

Since coming to the mountains

By Josh Anonymous

Since coming to the mountains of Western NC, I've noticed that a mild winter usually means a mild summer, while a harsh winter means a hot summer. I don't think there is rhyme or reason to predicting winter that way, but winter sure seems to predict summer.

Here in Missouri, I have seen

By Pam Caldwell

Here in Missouri, I have seen very few wooly's. The ones that I have seen were dead. Does anyone know what that means

North West Virginia, I've

By KTW

North West Virginia, I've seen many wooley worms this fall season and they very from all black to wide varied bands of brown, orange coloring. I guess the winter weather will be mild, cold, light snow, freezing and somewhat warm.

I've heard; If a Bee Nest is

By jjramage

I've heard; If a Bee Nest is very high up in a tree, we will have a bad winter. So far I have seen 4.

i have heard that if a

By mrs c

i have heard that if a hornets nest is low it will be a bad winter i know in 93 we got a huge snow in march 20in and we had one on our home almost on the ground so i dont know which way is right

Our woolies here in CT are

By Mary Jaeger

Our woolies here in CT are tipped with black on the top and bottom and mostly brown in the middle. One mild year I remember the woolies were all brown and another year they were mostly black, we had a hard, cold winter. I believe they predict very well what the weather will be for the winter. I also predict spring frost by the tree frogs (peepers). When I hear the peepers it always means we will get three more frosts and that is usually true.

We spotted 3 Woolly Bears

By Tobin74

We spotted 3 Woolly Bears today and all have a black head, brown body then a black tail. We live in Southwest Michigan.

We live in the country in

By Beemergranny14

We live in the country in South Central Illinois. I grew up here and my Grandfather always predicted the winter weather w/these little guys. He always said that if the "Woolies" were mostly dark, the winter would be cold and snowy and if they were light blonde, it would be a light winter. I am 62 and have been observing these little "Woolies" since I was 6 and Grandpa has been right all these years. I am now telling my Grand Kids about the "Woolies" and they are starting to keep records to see if I am right. I have found that most of the time, the old ways are the best. :-)

Here in northwestern NJ we've

By SailbySea

Here in northwestern NJ we've seen many Woolly Bears. Every single one I've seen has brown from one end to the other except for a small band of black on the head end.

That sign indicates the small

By ward

That sign indicates the small black on the head which means start of winter season will be more extreme. Hope his "prediction" is right !

A winter snow for every fog

By Greg Anonymous

A winter snow for every fog in August.

Down in the deep south the

By Avie Bourque

Down in the deep south the wolly worm is all black no bands,we have mild winters with few frost and freezes.

In the Northwest the woolie

By whatsdematter

In the Northwest the woolie worms have a huge band. There has even been no black on them. The squirrels and Bluejays have been Very busy collecting. It usually means hard weather, but little freezing, really wet!

Yes I do. I look out the

By Walrus

Yes I do. I look out the window.

I always watch where the

By Jean Anonymous

I always watch where the squirrels nest are located. The higher the nest, the more severe the Winter. This year all the nest in the trees are about half-way up. And I haven't seen a woolie worm this Fall, either. Don't know what to think of that!

I know if I see all black

By AnonymM-ketenbrinkous

I know if I see all black ones were infor a very nasty winter in Illinois....if he has yellow----lolo a rain slicker on ...were mild..if he has his car-hearts on...give it up...were snowed in..--true..

Carhartt not car-hearts

By ShawnMS

Carhartt not car-hearts lol

I live in south central KY

By Janet Gatliff

I live in south central KY and the wooly worms around here indicate that we will have a milder than usual winter. However, the Almanac has forecast a much colder than usual winter. I hope the wooly worms are correct. But I will be prepared in case the Almanac is.

I live in maryland.the ones i

By lee lockard

I live in maryland.the ones i have been seeing are mostly brown..indicating a mild winter...its worth mentioning though...a few winters ago in md. We had the wost winter on record...and i do honestly recall that year most of the woolys i saw were compleately black.i remember that was the first time time in my life that i had seen so many all black...and ive lived here for 30 years

I have seen several wooly

By Yvoone

I have seen several wooly worms in the last month in Mercer County NJ and they have just the tiniest bit of black on them. I'd say they are 90% brown and 10% black.

Here in NW PA, we have seen

By H.Newman

Here in NW PA, we have seen several Woolly Bears that are almost all brown with just a bit of black on the tip. Last year, they had black strips at both ends with a wide brown band down the center.

I haven't seen any wooly

By Faithlee

I haven't seen any wooly worms this year either and we usually see a lot crossing the roads. I live in MO. What does it mean?

I don't know about wooly

By J. Davis

I don't know about wooly worms,but when native ants build their mounds high you can look for a lot of wet weather

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