Friday, February 21, 2020

Let's talk about, what else?, the weather

Today is Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020.  It is a partly cloudy day and the temperature is currently 34º in my location of Newtown, CT at 3:30 P.M. There is a slight breeze thus producing a windchill factor making it feel in the upper 20s.

 I mention this because this past fall I got my annual Old Farmer's Almanac.  The OFA is a magazine that's been around since the late 1700s.  It's famous for its long range weather forecasts and since I'm a bit of a weather nut, I find it very appealing.  Every year it looks back on the previous year to determine how close they were.  As it turns out, they're pretty darn good-like about a 90% accuracy for temperatures and precipitation for our area.

At about the time I get my new almanac I also get a PocketPal Calendar  notebook from my wife's office.  In the past I've never known what to do with it because I use an electronic calendar on my computer but this year I decided to keep a daily weather journal.  Then at the end of the year I can compare it to the Old Farmer's Almanac and check it for accuracy.

So far, the Almanac is right on the money-milder winter, less precipitation.

Keep in mind this applies to our region.  I'm not comparing it on a national level.  We'll see how the rest of the year goes and I'll report back.  



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