If you love a snowy winter, like me, you have probably been pretty pleased with recent winter 2022 predictions that have been published. All of them say that we are in for a hunker-down kind of winter. But, the Woolly worm has something different to say about what our winter will look and feel like.

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My Grandma Morgan strongly believed that the Woolly worm was the most accurate predictor of winter weather. This time of year, we would go for walks in the woods to try and find the first sighing of a Woolly worn for the purpose of predicting the weather.

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How do Wooley Worms predict the weather?

It all has to do with the color of their stripes.  We are talking about the black and brown Woolly Worms. It's all about the width of both colors.

According to The Richmond Register,

<p>Folklore wisdom holds that the woolly bear can be an indicator of upcoming winter weather when caterpillars are found in the autumn. There are two methods of prediction that can be employed. At first, looking at the caterpillars for the relative amount of black hair versus orange hair will demonstrate how drastic winter might be.</p><p>The more black hair compared to orange, the worse winter will be. A more analytical version of this folk wisdom is that the 13 body segments of the caterpillar represent the 13 weeks of winter. Looking at where black versus orange appears can tell when winter will be at its worst on the calendar.</p>
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Here is a photo that was sent to me by my friend John Howell. He took the photo of the Woolly Worm in Newburgh, Indiana. He took the pic on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.

Photo Credit: John Howell
Photo Credit: John Howell
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If this southern Indiana Woolly Worm is right, we are in for a mild winter. Boo for me, but yay for you. LOL

Even though many people believe that the Woolly Worm can predict winter weather, scientists believe that there is no correlation between the width of the stripes on a Woolly Worm and snow or cold amounts. But, I'm going to stick with my grandma on this one, even though I love snow and cold.

Here is more info on how the winter predicting Woolly Worm.

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