PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WLVT) — This holiday season, they'll be colorful lights, cookies and Christmas tunes as usual, but will there be snow outside of your window on Dec. 25th?
One place to find out is inside the pages of the Farmers’ Almanac. The small book, comprising about 200 pages, has been predicting weather patterns for over 200 years.
"It’s a mathematical formula that was developed by our founder David Young in the 1800s," Pete Geiger, almanac editor, told PBS39. Young was a poet, teacher, and astronomer. "Essentially, the formula utilizes sunspot activity, planet positions and the effect the moon has on Earth’s tides," he explained.
Geiger is the second person in his family to edit the Lewiston, Maine-based publication and the seventh editor in the group's history. His father, Ray Geiger, was editor from 1933 until the early '90s when Pete took the helm.
"When I was seven years old he said, you really should become the almanac editor. He said no editor had ever died before the age of 86. I told him that sounded pretty good. So, once I graduated from Villanova University, I started to edit it with him," said Geiger.
He says southeastern Pennsylvania’s winter will be cold, but not snowy until mid-February.
"I’m sorry, but the southeastern Pennsylvania region won’t have a White Christmas," said Geiger. "I know you like to have some snow on or before Christmas and have it be gone by January. You’ll see your snow in February. We’re predicting a blizzard somewhere between the 12th to the 15th of February with one to two feet of snow. That means a wintry mix is likely for your area around that time."
A few snowstorms predicted for New England in March, he says, are likely to result in a rain-and-snow mix for Pennsylvanians.
"We talk about two or three big storms in March in the Northeastern U.S.," said Geiger. "That translates to a wintry mix and rain for areas like Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley."
Over one million copies of the almanac, which cost $7.49, are sold each year. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Geiger says he’s noticed an uptick in interest.
"I think now, with the pandemic, the almanac has been very relevant to life, and how to do things for yourself, how to be more self-sufficient and more aware," he explained. "Whether you’re growing food or houseplants, the almanac is a sort of guide for how to live. For instance, there’s a lot of calcium in eggshells. You can actually bake the eggshells and then crunch them down into a fine powder using a rolling pin. You then put the powder into your health drink. I'd say there's something in the almanac for everyone."
Visit farmersalmanac.com to learn more.