| The Weather in December
Visits should be short, like a winter’s day. But what is a winter’s day, weatherwise? The Old Farmer’s Almanac has some surprising predictions for December. |
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 | Dear Weather Watcher,
Winter is finally here! It begins with the solstice at 11:19 P.M. EST. on December 21. Officially, anyway. The forecast tells a different story, though, with almost the entire country experiencing temperatures well above normal. Here’s what to look for this December.
The Desert Southwest and the Pacific Southwest are the only regions looking at colder-than-normal temperatures for December. If you’re in those areas, expect the average temperature to be 3 degrees and 2 degrees below normal, respectively. The one caveat is Alaska, where the northern part of the state will be 6 degrees colder than normal and the southern section will be 5 degrees warmer than usual, giving the state as a whole a slightly cooler than average month.
The rest of the country should see temperatures between 3 and 5 degrees above normal. The biggest standout here is in the Upper Midwest, where the average temperature of 24° is 8 degrees above normal.
What about snow? It’s a mixed bag for most of the country, with the forecast shifting from sunny and mild to rain to snow throughout the month, depending on where you live, of course. The eastern areas of Hawaii are in for a wet month, though, with 10 inches more rainfall than normal.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac—America’s oldest and most popular almanac—uses a unique, age-old formula that’s traditionally 80% accurate. Our weather forecasting methodology stems from a secret formula that was devised by our founder, Robert B. Thomas, in 1792.
Thomas believed that weather on Earth was influenced by sunspots, which are magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun. Notes about his formula are locked in a black box in our offices in Dublin, New Hampshire. Over the years, we have refined and enhanced this formula with state-of-the-art technology and modern scientific calculations. For example, our overall accuracy rate in forecasting the direction of temperature change from normal for the 2018–2019 winter was 88.9%. |
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| Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools from The Old Farmer's Almanac! | | |
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| The Full Moon in December | December’s full Moon was known as the Cold Moon or the Long Nights Moon by both the Algonquin tribes and colonial Americans. Native Americans used the monthly Moons and nature’s signs as a sort of calendar to track the seasons. Why this second name? The nights are longest at this time of year.
What else should you know about December’s Moon? Based on the Moon’s sign and phase in December, we can predict the best days each month for certain activities. For instance, the best days in December for canning, pickling, or making sauerkraut are the 21st and 22nd. If you plan to color your hair, December 8th and 9th are the best days. And schedule your dental care for the 17th or 18th.
Wondering when you should make jams or jellies? Start a project? Ask for a loan or buy a home? We’d love to tell you more because the Moon can reveal the best days for all of these activities, but if you want more specifics, you’ll need to get an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership! |  | | Did You Know? | December’s birthstone is the turquoise. It’s a symbol of good fortune and success and is believed to relax the mind, balance emotions, and protect its wearer from harm.
Unlike many gems, the turquoise is opaque, and its color can vary from sky blue to greenish blue to pale green. The soft, porous turquoise is most common in dry areas where volcanic activity occurred.
To get a full year of birthstone facts, weather predictions, and plenty of other useful information, wit, and wisdom—along with a bundle of BONUSES!—get started with an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership!
How warm will it be in January? How cold? Do you need a new snow shovel? We’d love to tell you more, but if you want the specifics on snowfall, winter temperatures, and precipitation, you’ll need to join The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Watcher’s Club! |
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| | Special Charter Membership Offer for you—Introducing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club! |
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Save 62% with your Weather Club Charter Membership! |
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| Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools from The Old Farmer's Almanac! | | |
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| How We Predict the Weather | With an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Watcher’s Club Membership, you’ll get the collectible hardcover 2020 edition of the Almanac as well as our monthly digital magazine, EXTRA!, plus a bundle of FREE bonuses! And you’ll learn more about how we predict the weather and how accurate these predictions have been historically. With an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Watcher’s Club Membership, you’ll also be on top of . . .
- Frost dates, including the average date of the first or last freeze that occurs in spring and fall.
- How to rotate crops to avoid pests and soilborne diseases.
- The best fishing days and times, as well as when fish will be most active.
- The best days of each month for certain activities, according to the Moon’s sign, such as cutting hair, pickling or making sauerkraut, mowing, pruning, and even breeding animals.
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| | Special Charter Membership Offer for you—Introducing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club! |
|
Save 62% with your Weather Club Charter Membership! |
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| Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools from The Old Farmer's Almanac! | | |
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| Fair weather or foul, you can count on the excellent resources at The Old Farmer’s Almanac for a wealth of weather tips and tools—with a Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club! | Announcing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club! This new and exciting club is designed especially for you—with just the inspiration and information you need as a casual or dedicated weather watcher.
We’ve put together essential Old Farmer’s Almanac resources to celebrate your love of weather watching and give you tons of tips for making your weather watching activities fun and productive. And it all starts, of course, with The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Whether you’re a serious weather watcher or just like to enjoy the changing weather from season to season, a Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club will keep you entertained, informed, and inspired all year long!
Since 1792, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been a traditional resource for folks who like to get a long view on upcoming weather trends, dedicated farmers, avid and casual gardeners, and people who love to collect little snippets of country wit and wisdom that they can share with family and friends.
We’re not just the oldest published almanac, but also the oldest continuously published periodical in North America—and we’ve been around longer than any newspaper or magazine, too. |
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| Get your Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club today—with resources to make your weather watching more enjoyable. From sunrise to moonrise, blizzard to summer breeze, you’ll enjoy each day a little more with these fabulous weather resources! | With your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership, you get everything you need to be ready for any weather:
- Weather Notebook: Whether you like to get right into the heart of the storm or you’d rather watch the weather from the comfort of your favorite chair, this notebook is the perfect place to log the daily weather. There’s space for you to record the weather essentials, including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and more. With room for 4 years of daily observations, over time you’ll be able to track—and even predict—local weather conditions.
- 2020 Weather Watcher’s Wall Calendar: Mother Nature puts on spectacular shows around the world, and we’ve captured some of the most amazing weather moments for you in our 10-7/8" x 16-3/4" Weather Watcher’s Calendar. From the formation of a waterspout to the interplay of a rainbow and lightning, each month of the Weather Watcher’s Calendar will bring you a stunning new photo. Each month also features a key event in history, from devastating storms to peculiar weather occurrences. The “Ask the Old Farmer” section gives you detailed answers about unusual weather phenomena. Plus, there is a little poem that summarizes the essence of each month.
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac: This special softcover edition of the 2020 Almanac has a hole drilled in the corner for easy hanging (in the old days, people would hang it in the outhouse). Just like its hardcover partner, the Almanac is packed with the tips, trivia, and insights that make it a family favorite.
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! Our monthly digital magazine includes articles on weather, gardening, and other content not found in the print edition. It’s a great way to keep up-to-date on Almanacky topics throughout the year.
- Bonus: Not only will you get a new Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! each month—you’ll get free access to every issue of EXTRA! in our digital library. That’s more than 40 issues of great gardening tips, delicious recipes, and more!
| | | Special Charter Membership Offer for you—Introducing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club! |
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Save 62% with your Weather Club Charter Membership! |
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| Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools from The Old Farmer's Almanac! | | | | An Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership will deliver exciting rewards for you—and at a special introductory rate, right now, for all new Charter Members. | When you claim your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership today, you’ll enjoy these benefits and more:
- Know your snow. There’s more to snowflakes than meets the eye, and you’ll become an expert at identifying snow crystals—and you can use that knowledge to predict your local weather.
- Explore extreme weather. Read the stories behind wild weather occurrences, including tornados, lightning, dust storms, and more.
- Share weather wisdom. Some weather proverbs have endured for a reason. Save your favorite weather sayings for a rainy day—or any time you want to share them.
- Predict and plan. Use the handy Moon, tide, and weather guides throughout the year to help you map out your activities.
How can you not consider becoming anOld Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Member? | | What You’ll Get With an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership | There’s so much weather knowledge to gain as a Charter Member of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club:
Each day brings its own weather gifts, and you can keep track of them as you log your observations in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Notebook. This handy notebook is chock-full of weather facts and has space for you to chronicle the weather day by day for 4 years!
This weather notebook makes taking observations a pleasure:
- Space to record daily temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and special weather conditions
- Packed with reference charts and beautiful weather photos
- A new weather proverb for each day
- Weatherproof softcover binding
- Attached red ribbon marker so you never lose your place
As you watch the days pass from season to season, enjoy the vibrant photography in our Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Watcher’s Calendar. This compact calendar is the perfect size to fit on the wall in your kitchen or den or right by your office window. Each month features fabulous photographs of Mother Nature at her best—intense, peaceful, spectacular.
Get additional weather insight each month with the “Ask the Old Farmer” section, where you’ll find detailed answers to questions about weather topics ranging from scorching summers to biting winters. You’ll love the photography, proverbs, and weather lore in our 2020 Weather Watcher’s Wall Calendar!
In the convenient, hangable, softcover edition of the 2020 Almanac, you’ll find a section dedicated to the weather: predictions, history, tips, and trivia. The weather outlook for the entire country is there at your fingertips—just check out your region for a month-by-month breakdown of what you can expect. You’ll be prepared for anything!
Here’s a taste of some of the weather information that you’ll find in the 2020 Almanac: - Check our accuracy (we do!) with a comparison of last year’s predictions against the actual data.
- Focus on your home base with detailed weather predictions month by month—including a handy temperature/precipitation chart to give you an overview of the year.
- See how we use the Sun and Moon in our weather predictions.
- Safety first: Learn how thick the ice must be before you venture out onto the pond or lake.
- Be ready for severe heat and cold with our handy heat index.
- Don’t have a weather station of your own? Follow our tips for measuring weather features like hail size and wind speed.
- Just in case, we have guidelines for measuring the strength of earthquakes and tornados.
- Be ready for hurricane season with the list of hurricane names for 2020 for both the Atlantic and Pacific and review the list of hurricane names retired from the rotation because of their strength and destructiveness.
Because we know that things change, each month you’ll get new articles and original content with our digital magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! It’s a treasure trove of Almanac information that you won’t find in the printed edition, including access to audio and video content. EXTRA! can lead you to some interactive fun when you’re ready for a change of pace.
And as a bonus, you’ll have total access to our complete digital library of EXTRA! issues—more than 40 in all!
And all of this is available to you—right now—when you claim your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership. | | | Special Charter Membership Offer for you—Introducing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club! |
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Save 62% with your Weather Club Charter Membership! |
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| Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools from The Old Farmer's Almanac! | | | | What are you waiting for? Become a Charter Member of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club today! | | No other Almanac has so many fun and fascinating facts, timely and accurate events and predictions, and topical and useful articles all in one place for your easy access and use—and covering more regions of North America than any other Almanac or resource! Add The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Notebook, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Watcher’s Calendar, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA!, and you’ll be ready for any weather, fair or foul! | | Why Not Join Right Now? | | Weather watchers everywhere have been using The Old Farmer’s Almanac for years to help keep an eye on the weather, and now The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership offers you an impressive set of weather watching resources all in one place! |
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62%-OFF Charter Offer for You—Join Today!
When you respond today, you’ll be among a select group of Almanac friends to take advantage of this special Weather Club Charter Membership offer.
With your Charter Membership, you’ll receive The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Notebook, the 2020 Weather Watcher’s Calendar, the 2020 Old Farmer’s Almanac, and a subscription to our monthly digital magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA!
Rain or snow, heat or cold, be ready for any weather—with this incredible deal!
This is a limited-time offer, so take advantage of it right now! |
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When we first created the Weather Club, we wanted to make it easy to use, easy to order, and packed with valuable weather-related content that you could put to use right away. Be the best weather watcher you can be with your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership.
Sincerely,
Janice Stillman
Editor
The Old Farmer’s Almanac
P.S. Why not be among the first to join us today and benefit from the valuable Almanac weather information that you can’t get anywhere else? Become an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Member today—while this special Charter Membership offer lasts! | | | Special Charter Membership Offer for you—Introducing The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club! |
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Save 62% with your Weather Club Charter Membership! |
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| Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools from The Old Farmer's Almanac! | | |
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