Woolly Worms Predicting Winter Snow

What can you say about the winter of 2011-12? Or maybe the non-winter? It was an unseasonably warm and dry winter and while some of us like snow it pleased a lot of people.

But now we’re fast approaching the upcoming cold and although the weather forecasters are usually wrong about projecting snowfall there may be one way to predict just how much white stuff we’re going to get.

Yes, we’re talking woolly worms. Those cute and fuzzy little guys (actually the larvae of the Isabella tiger moth) are known weather wizards and this year they’re saying, “Get ready!”

Are the woolly worm's bands really an accurate way to predict the winter weather? Dr. C.H. Curran, former curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History tested the woolly worms' accuracy in the 1950's. His surveys found an 80% accuracy rate for the woolly worms' weather predictions.

Yikes!

According to local television station, Fox 4 in Kansas City, the woollies are mostly black with just a pinch of brown and this means a harsh winter. Last year the worms were almost entirely brown and we had our lowest snow amount ever recorded and warm temps that had us outside in January.

So based on this “scientific” evidence we may be facing a more normal winter with a chance of excessive snowfall. If you listen closely you can hear school kids rejoicing and planning their snow days.

It’s probably smart to plan your snow days as well. When winter dumps a white blanket on Kansas City, KC Landscape Curbing transforms from your lawn authority to your snow removal hero and we can clear that white stuff from your residential and commercial property. We’re on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so you won’t be left out in the cold when Mother Nature gets a good laugh and stops us all in our tracks.

Our appointments book up fast when the skies darken so if your home or business depends on effective snow removal give us a call and let us clear your path.