Kevin “Boomer” Gallant, former weather specialist with CBC News: Compass

“The Old Farmer’s Almanac” is an entertaining booklet that has great recipes, historical facts, humour and just about anything and everything from years gone by to the present. It’s an annual publication that folks look forward to reading and stirring up conversations.

The predictions of weather for areas of North America that are published are for, what I believe, entertainment and to stir up discussion, and it does do that.

In my 31 years of presenting the weather here on P.E.I. on TV and radio, I have often heard people say to me after a weather event, “The almanac said that would happen.” I often laughed at them in jest, and explained to a few of them what my thoughts were on the almanac’s weather forecasts. Here’s my take on them.

First of all, the almanac will show you a period of seven or eight days that a certain type of weather will occur. If it rains or snows, or is hot or cold, just once in that time frame, people are quick to react with, “The almanac was right,” forgetting that the other six or seven days were wrong. It seemingly just takes that one day of their predicted weather to get readers to pipe up about their “accuracy”. I liken this to the person who gambles a lot and you only hear about their wins, never their losses, which are far greater. Have you ever seen a casino go broke?

So, as I mentioned at the outset, enjoy “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” and all it has to offer, especially their weather forecasts, which will keep your eye to the sky for the next 52 weeks, but stay tuned to your local media for your daily forecasts, which are far more accurate.