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CNN Live Today

Weather Wisdom from Farmers' Almanac

Aired June 20, 2003 - 07:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: They dare to go where others fear to forecast. We're talking about the "Farmers' Almanac." It's famous for its yearly weather predictions. Record rainfall has made this spring a washout for many, but the "Almanac" saw it coming. In fact, many of its 2003 predictions have been right on the money. Among them, check these out, consistent spring rain along the East Coast, harsh winter storms, a snowy Thanksgiving, a white Christmas and a major Presidents Day storm in the northeast. All right?
So, now with all that said, what kind of summer do the folks at the "Farmers' Almanac" expect now? Well, Sandi Duncan is the managing editor of the "Almanac," and she is with us here in our New York studios.

Good to see you in the flesh.

SANDI DUNCAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "FARMERS' ALMANAC": Thank you. And you, too.

HARRIS: And so, congratulations first of all for being right about it, but thanks for nothing.

DUNCAN: Exactly.

HARRIS: Every time I've come here to New York, it's been raining.

DUNCAN: I know. I know. If we could control the weather, we'd be a lot more famous, but we just predict what we see. And we don't always take the blame, but we take the credit when we're accurate.

HARRIS: All right, so what is it going to be like down the road for the Northeast then? Is the weather pattern the way it is right now, is it going to stay this way for some time or what?

DUNCAN: Well, according to the "2003 Farmers' Almanac," long- range predictions, it looks like it's going to become hot and humid, but unfortunately there is going to be a lot of severe storms coming up this summer, which means a lot of thunderstorms and hail possibly. And it looks like that July is going to warm up, but in the middle of July there's going to be a cool period with some showers. But then toward the end of July and the beginning of August, book your vacation now in the Northeast.

HARRIS: Really! OK, so overall, hot? Normal? What do you think? DUNCAN: I think it's going to be a little -- perhaps a little cooler and a little more rain than unusual. But it's still going to be a hazy, hot kind of summer when it finally gets here, which it's taking its sweet time. But according to the long-range weather forecast from the "Farmers' Almanac," it's going to -- there is hope. The sun will come out one of these days.

HARRIS: OK, so if you had to pick one place based upon what you know or whatever instincts you guys are following over there, what part of the country do you think is going to have the best summer?

DUNCAN: Well, according to the "Farmers' Almanac" long-range predictions, the north central states, which is kind of in the middle of the country, they're not going to have too much rain. And also the Southwest is always a nice place to go visit. In fact, a few years ago in the "Farmers' Almanac," we listed the 10 top weather places to be, and Yuma, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, if you like that sun and not too much rain, you might want to take a trip out there.

HARRIS: Well, Chad Myers has been saying almost every day now, Phoenix, 116, Phoenix, 100 and a million. And very day it's been hot there already. Is that the trend there for the summer as well?

DUNCAN: It does. It looks like...

HARRIS: And you think that's good?

DUNCAN: Well, it depends. People every day wake up here and they see that rain and it's going to be 60 something degrees tomorrow. If you want to get some heat, maybe a weekend trip might be worth it. But everybody is going to complain about the weather. I mean, last year, we were praying for this rain, and this year we have it.

HARRIS: What do you use to come up with these different predictions? From what I hear, you guys really don't follow some of these old wives' tales. Do you have somebody upstairs who has got just a big bunion or something and you just go in there and check and see if it's aching? Or what do you use?

DUNCAN: Actually, it's very methodical and it's an astronomical formula. It's a top-secret formula that we've been using for almost 186 years. There is a weather forecaster, but he keeps top secret. He goes by the name of Caleb Weatherby (ph). He's an actual person. I'm not allowed to divulge his identity. But he does. He uses a formula that has been time-tested and it bases its stuff on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the moon, position of the planets, and a lot of factors such as that.

HARRIS: So, he doesn't believe in things like the Woolley (ph) bears? That's my folks in Ohio, we have those every year. Does he follow that sort of thing?

DUNCAN: We don't actually use it, because weather folklore actually has some -- that's not really scientific, but there is a lot of backing to it. And it's kind of interesting, because people used to look at nature more carefully, and sometimes it's very localized and very accurate, whereas the "Farmers' Almanac," we're doing the long-range and we're trying to give an idea of what the weather might be throughout the whole country.

HARRIS: All right, we'll have to have you back later on to check and see how you do after the summer is over with.

DUNCAN: OK.

HARRIS: Sandi Duncan with the "Farmers' Almanac," good to see you. Take care.

DUNCAN: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Happy summer to you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired June 20, 2003 - 07:53   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: They dare to go where others fear to forecast. We're talking about the "Farmers' Almanac." It's famous for its yearly weather predictions. Record rainfall has made this spring a washout for many, but the "Almanac" saw it coming. In fact, many of its 2003 predictions have been right on the money. Among them, check these out, consistent spring rain along the East Coast, harsh winter storms, a snowy Thanksgiving, a white Christmas and a major Presidents Day storm in the northeast. All right?
So, now with all that said, what kind of summer do the folks at the "Farmers' Almanac" expect now? Well, Sandi Duncan is the managing editor of the "Almanac," and she is with us here in our New York studios.

Good to see you in the flesh.

SANDI DUNCAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "FARMERS' ALMANAC": Thank you. And you, too.

HARRIS: And so, congratulations first of all for being right about it, but thanks for nothing.

DUNCAN: Exactly.

HARRIS: Every time I've come here to New York, it's been raining.

DUNCAN: I know. I know. If we could control the weather, we'd be a lot more famous, but we just predict what we see. And we don't always take the blame, but we take the credit when we're accurate.

HARRIS: All right, so what is it going to be like down the road for the Northeast then? Is the weather pattern the way it is right now, is it going to stay this way for some time or what?

DUNCAN: Well, according to the "2003 Farmers' Almanac," long- range predictions, it looks like it's going to become hot and humid, but unfortunately there is going to be a lot of severe storms coming up this summer, which means a lot of thunderstorms and hail possibly. And it looks like that July is going to warm up, but in the middle of July there's going to be a cool period with some showers. But then toward the end of July and the beginning of August, book your vacation now in the Northeast.

HARRIS: Really! OK, so overall, hot? Normal? What do you think? DUNCAN: I think it's going to be a little -- perhaps a little cooler and a little more rain than unusual. But it's still going to be a hazy, hot kind of summer when it finally gets here, which it's taking its sweet time. But according to the long-range weather forecast from the "Farmers' Almanac," it's going to -- there is hope. The sun will come out one of these days.

HARRIS: OK, so if you had to pick one place based upon what you know or whatever instincts you guys are following over there, what part of the country do you think is going to have the best summer?

DUNCAN: Well, according to the "Farmers' Almanac" long-range predictions, the north central states, which is kind of in the middle of the country, they're not going to have too much rain. And also the Southwest is always a nice place to go visit. In fact, a few years ago in the "Farmers' Almanac," we listed the 10 top weather places to be, and Yuma, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, if you like that sun and not too much rain, you might want to take a trip out there.

HARRIS: Well, Chad Myers has been saying almost every day now, Phoenix, 116, Phoenix, 100 and a million. And very day it's been hot there already. Is that the trend there for the summer as well?

DUNCAN: It does. It looks like...

HARRIS: And you think that's good?

DUNCAN: Well, it depends. People every day wake up here and they see that rain and it's going to be 60 something degrees tomorrow. If you want to get some heat, maybe a weekend trip might be worth it. But everybody is going to complain about the weather. I mean, last year, we were praying for this rain, and this year we have it.

HARRIS: What do you use to come up with these different predictions? From what I hear, you guys really don't follow some of these old wives' tales. Do you have somebody upstairs who has got just a big bunion or something and you just go in there and check and see if it's aching? Or what do you use?

DUNCAN: Actually, it's very methodical and it's an astronomical formula. It's a top-secret formula that we've been using for almost 186 years. There is a weather forecaster, but he keeps top secret. He goes by the name of Caleb Weatherby (ph). He's an actual person. I'm not allowed to divulge his identity. But he does. He uses a formula that has been time-tested and it bases its stuff on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the moon, position of the planets, and a lot of factors such as that.

HARRIS: So, he doesn't believe in things like the Woolley (ph) bears? That's my folks in Ohio, we have those every year. Does he follow that sort of thing?

DUNCAN: We don't actually use it, because weather folklore actually has some -- that's not really scientific, but there is a lot of backing to it. And it's kind of interesting, because people used to look at nature more carefully, and sometimes it's very localized and very accurate, whereas the "Farmers' Almanac," we're doing the long-range and we're trying to give an idea of what the weather might be throughout the whole country.

HARRIS: All right, we'll have to have you back later on to check and see how you do after the summer is over with.

DUNCAN: OK.

HARRIS: Sandi Duncan with the "Farmers' Almanac," good to see you. Take care.

DUNCAN: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Happy summer to you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.