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Modern Meterology

Forecasting

Is there a difference between The Farmers Almanac and The Old Farmer’s Almanac?

The Old Farmer’s Almanac was first published in 1792 under the editorial leadership of Robert B. Thomas (1766–1846) and is currently published out of Dublin, New Hampshire. The similarly titled Farmer’s Almanac debuted in 1818 in Ohio; the founding editor was David Young (d. 1852), and the publication is now headquartered in Lewiston, Maine. They are, indeed, different publications, although more confusion arises from the fact that, initially, The Old Farmer’s Almanac was called The Farmer’s Almanac for a number of years. Both, though, are almanacs, which means they include information about upcoming astronomical events, such as tides, sunrises and sunsets, lunar cycles, and so on. For added interest, they include cooking recipes, gardening tips, nature news, and advice columns. Published annually, they also both make predictions about the weather for the coming year, which is what made them desirable books for farmers to own. Both books claim to have secret formulas for predicting the weather the most accurately, with The Old Farmer’s Almanac claiming it has an accuracy of 80 percent. Meteorologists dispute such claims, though, and also note that the almanacs make broad generalities about weather forecasts that makes them hard to refute. For instance, a prediction for spring might say that the Midwest will experience more rain than usual.



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