How close is the Farmers Almanac in its weather forecasts?
The Farmers Almanac has fairly detailed, day-by-day forecasts for more than a year ahead. One of the most well-established facts in meteorology is that day-by-day forecasts for more than about two weeks ahead are not possible. Our Limitations of long-range forecasts story has more information on this. You could also check our Understanding weather forecasting page for more on forecasting. Of course, it’s possible that some day, some one will come up with a way to extend detailed forecasts for longer periods, but that seems unlikely. All this means that sometimes almanacs will hit correct forecasts, but anyone can do just as well by making educated guesses; that is, don’t predict snow for Los Angeles in July, but use some random way to make forecasts based on the odds, such as tossing a coin.
