Wooly Bear Forecasting....

[dmc]

I took this a couple weeks ago...
What exactly is the story with Wooly Bears? Is this guy a good sign for snow?

 

[Rushski]

Think it may be "the bigger the middle band, the more snow"? It may be the exact opposite, but hopefully your find will lead to copious amounts of white stuff!!!

 

[Greg]

Hopefully that little bastard will soon be frozen solid...

 

[ctenidae]

Thick strip means mild winter, thin means long and cold.

Several scientific studies have been done on woolly bear caterpillar forecasts, including one by the American Museum of Natural History. None of these studies have shown any correlation between woolly bear markings and the severity of the upcoming winter. According to Ned Rozell, science writer at the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute, Biologist Dr. Charles Curran began studying woolly bear markings and the severity of winters in 1948. For the first three years, the caterpillars had wide brown bands, correctly forecasting three consecutive mild winters. The caterpillars failed the next year, and Dr. Curran gave up the study in 1955 after finding two groups of caterpillars living near each other that had vastly different predictions for the upcoming winter.


http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=226&tstamp=200511