Farmers’ Almanac Says Goodbye, Here Is Their Last Montana Forecast

A Farewell To A Forecasting Legend

How much stock do you put into weather forecasts?

Weather can be quite challenging to predict, but one publication that has been providing forecasts for over 200 years has decided it's time to stop.

Farmers’ Almanac Shuts Down After More Than Two Centuries

Farmers' Almanac, first published back in 1818, has posted on its website "A Fond Farewell."

Given the high costs associated with printing these books annually, I was not surprised to learn they were discontinuing their publishing efforts. However, it was quite shocking to find out that they would also stop providing their forecasts online.

So with Farmers' Almanac going out of business, what does their final long-term forecast have in store for Montana?

Montana’s Final Forecast

First, just to clear up some confusion, this is the Farmers' Almanac that is closing, not the Old Farmer's Almanac. I've seen plenty of confusion online.

Now as to the final forecast as predicted by Farmers' Almanac, who claim to have an 85% success rate, they say Montana will be experiencing what they are calling a "Chill, Snow, Repeat" winter.

How Accurate Were The Farmers’ Almanac Predictions, Really?

Part of me wants to say, "Um, yeah, that's pretty much what winter is," but at the same time, knowing that we could see some pretty cold temps and plenty of moisture this year does help our farmers (and gardeners) plan their next season of crops.

Just an aside, someone did the math on their entire 200-year plus history, and their predictions average out to be about 25% accurate, so it'll be interesting to see if they get their final prediction right.