Canadian Farmers' Almanac predicting warm weather to continue into fall

Albertans hoping the nice weather seen this summer continues into fall can take heart.

The 2018 Canadian Farmers' Almanac is predicting warm temperatures and moderate snowfall.

"Looks like the fall is going to be quite nice leading up to the winter season so I think the farmers and gardeners will be happy with that," SandiDuncan, managing editor of the Canadian Farmers' Almanac, told The Homestretch this week.

And when winter comes,snow lovers willbe happy as well, said Duncan.

"I do think the skiers will rejoice," she said. "It does look like there's some heavy snow coming at the beginning of December and then it continues in January and February. Overall it's going to be one of those kind of winters most peoplewill be happy with."

• MORE CALGARY NEWS|Bystanders may have saved woman's life in Calgary hit and run, police say
• MORE CALGARY NEWS|Granary Road, a new farmers' market, opens this weekend south of Calgary

Predicting the weather with any degree of accuracy takesmore than simply looking outside and seeing which way the wind is blowing.

Instead, it relies on a formula developed in 1818.

"It's a mathematical and astronomical formula that takes a variety of factors into consideration," said Duncan. "Things like sun-spot activity, position of the moon, and we try to use that to predict what's going to come 12-months to 16-months down the road."

The Farmers' Almanac predicted a particularly cold winter last year, which didn't materialize. But it also predicted a warmer than average summer, which we're still enjoying..

"Mother Nature likes to remind us all, even the people who predict the weather, that she's in control, we're not," said Duncan.

The Canadian Farmers' Almanac has remained popular for simple reasons, said Duncan.

"I think it's the basics," she said. "People, in this crazy kind of world, they want to get back to the basics. They want to learn how to grow things more organically, or they want to learn how to cook things or how to be a little more home-grown, and the Farmers' Almanac always fulfills that need.

"And we're the only source that goes out on a limb and predicts the weather so far in advance."