Farmer’s Almanac Says It Will Be a Cold One

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — The folks at the Farmers' Almanac are feeling a bit smug after correctly predicting the past nasty winter, which featured relentless snowstorms and a polar vortex.

Editors of the 198-year-old publication in Maine are projecting more of the same in a few months.

The latest edition officially goes on sale this week. It forecasts colder-than-normal and wetter-than-usual weather for three-quarters of the country east of the Rocky Mountains.

The publication, not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer's Almanac, bases its long-range forecasts on a secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles.

Modern science doesn't put much stock in the formula, but modern meteorologists sometimes struggle with long-range forecasts. The national Climate Prediction Center projected milder weather last winter.