Latest news with #TheFarmer'sAlmanac
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
These 4 U.S. Regions Are Poised for a 'Scorching Hot' Summer—Is Yours One of Them?
Curious whether your summer vacation is going to be perfectly mild and sunny or if you need to brace yourself for monsoon-level rains and a glued-to-the-TV hurricane season? Unfortunately, most weather apps only prepare you with a 10-day forecast, which doesn't do much good if you're looking for a temperature check on the entire season. Those long-term predictions are when we turn to an old staple: The Old Farmer's Almanac. First published in 1792, this book was the reference for those looking to brush up on trends and news in gardening, sports, and more, but it was also the place to find semi-reliable insights on what the twelve months ahead might look like. At one time, it was the guiding force for farmers to make decisions about their upcoming planting season. And, while the technology for making predictions has changed, the general ethos behind The Almanac remains the same. Weather forecasts are made once a year using historical weather patterns and tidal records, as well as the disciplines of solar science, climatology, and meteorology, to anticipate how the seasons will behave. These predictions are said to be accurate 80% of the time. So what's in store for Summer 2025? Keep reading for overall weather predictions from The Farmer's Almanac, as well a breakdown of summer weather patterns by region. If you love embracing all of summer's sunshine and heat, then get your pool bag ready. This summer is going to be h-o-t, hot. Sky-high temperatures should set in just in time for summer's unofficial peak in July and August, so plan your travels accordingly. The Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting hot and dry conditions across the majority of the country throughout the summer. Only the southernmost tip of Florida, the Pacific Northwest, and the southern half of Alaska will face cooler-than-usual temperatures. Meanwhile, parts of the Midwest and Northeast are looking at hot, rainy conditions — it's not the heat that'll get ya, it's the humidity. Note: Locations not mentioned below are predicted to have a hot and dry summer. Region 1: The Northeast, which includes Maine, western Massachusetts, New Hampshire, eastern New York, and Maine will have a hot, rainy, wet summer with high humidity. Region 5: Most of Florida will have an unsurprisingly hot summer, but southern Florida will face cool, wet conditions and hurricane potential. Region 6: The Lower Lakes, which includes eastern Illinois, northern Indiana, Michigan, and northern Ohio, will have an unusually rainy summer. Region 7: The Ohio Valley, including southern Illinois, southern Indiana, Kentucky, southern Ohio, and western West Virginia, will have a wet summer. Region 8: Of course, it's going to be hot in the Deep South, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, but this year will be even more of a scorcher than normal. Region 10: The Heartland, otherwise known as eastern Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and eastern Nebraska, will have a hot, dry summer. Temperatures are predicted to be 4°F above normal. Region 11: Texas and Oklahoma are going to be looking for relief this summer, with predictions lined up for these two states to be the hottest in the entire country. Region 13: The Intermountain region, which includes western Colorado, western Montana, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington, will be cooler and rainy this summer. Region 14: If you're in the Desert Southwest, also known as the area from southern California to western Texas, you're going to face more-sweltering-then-normal temperatures. Region 15: The Pacific Northwest, including western Washington and Oregon, is the place to be this summer, with cool, dry temperatures. Region 17: Head to Alaska, and you'll see dry weather in the north, with wet weather in the south. Both areas will be cooler than normal. Region 18: Hawaii is going to be wet this summer but, depending on where you are, it could be cooler or hotter. The Big Island will have a hotter than average summer, and the islands will be cooler. You Might Also Like 70 Impressive Tiny Houses That Maximize Function and Style 30+ Paint Colors That Will Instantly Transform Your Kitchen
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
When do the clocks change? See when we spring forward, make Daylight Saving Time permanent
It's almost time to set your clocks forward one hour, with the start of Daylight Saving Time approaching. Most of us aren't a fan of losing an hour of sleep, but the extra hour of daylight in the evenings is a plus for many. While the time change is controversial, and there have been efforts to both end Daylight Saving Time and make it permanent, nothing has been set in stone and therefore we will once again spring forward this March. Here's everything you need to know about Daylight Saving Time. In 2025, daylight saving time will begin at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 9. It will mean losing an hour of sleep and moving the clocks around your house forward one hour, though your cell phone will likely automatically adjust. The sun will rise and set an hour later. Efforts to stop the changing clocks have gained footing in recent years, but nothing has become official. In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent. But the bill was not passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. But in December, then-President-elect Donald Trump said he wants to put an end to daylight saving time, making standard time year-round. "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on social media site Truth Social. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation." While Trump and many others hope to keep the United States on Standard Time year-round, some studies show more Americans would prefer to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, according to The Farmer's Almanac. In 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act which would make DST permanent, but it failed to pass the House. For the law to be considered again, it will have to be reintroduced as a new bill Daylight saving time is the practice of setting the clock forward one hour in the spring to have the sunrise and sunset at a more reasonable hour. The Uniform Time Act established nationwide standards for the observance of daylight saving time when it was signed into law in 1966. Before that, there was a patchwork of standards as municipalities and states chose whether or not to observe the practice. Most people have heard the myth that daylight saving time came about to give farmers an extra hour of sunlight in the evening. But in reality, farmers led the opposition to daylight saving time in 1919, a year after it was implemented in the United States as a wartime measure. "The sun, not the clock, dictated farmers' schedules, so daylight saving was very disruptive," reported. "Farmers had to wait an extra hour for dew to evaporate to harvest hay, hired hands worked less since they still left at the same time for dinner and cows weren't ready to be milked an hour earlier to meet shipping schedules." Nationwide daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, though states and cities still had the option to enact it for themselves, leading to a patchwork of time zones across the country until the Uniform Time Act passed in 1966. Contributing: Alexis Simmerman This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: When is Spring Forward 2025? Will Daylight Saving Time become permanent?
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
February's Full Moon Is Brighter When There's Snow for This Scientific Reason
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Brrrrrrrrr. Baby, it's cold outside, and if you're like us, nothing sounds better than cozying up on the couch with a super soft throw and a steaming cup of hot chocolate. But on and around February 12, you're going to want to at least poke your head outside to catch sight of this month's gorgeous full moon. You won't be able to see it at its peak—more on that ahead—but thanks to our nifty Snow Moon Guide, you can become an expert on all the intriguing ins and outs of February's fabulously frozen full lunar phase. This big and bold bella luna, which follows January's Wolf Moon, and precedes the Worm Moon of March (usually the first full moon of spring), will light up the nights around February 12. That's especially true if there's plenty of the white stuff that gives this moon its name on the ground because snow is highly reflective. So you might even consider bundling up and taking a stroll under the moonlight's glorious glow this month. But first, read on as we answer all your questions about the Snow Moon, including how it got its name, where it will appear in the sky, and the best time to see it! The Snow Moon occurs in February, and—like every other full moon—it happens halfway through the lunar cycle, about once a month. During this phase, the moon sits opposite the sun, with the Earth in the middle, sandwiched between the two. The "near side" of the moon, the lunar hemisphere facing Earth, is completely illuminated by the sun's rays and looks like the great, gleaming circle in the sky we call full. This year we can look forward to seeing 12 full moons, including three Supermoons. They occur when a full moon coincides with the moon's closest approach in its orbit to our planet (the lunar perigee). These Supermoons, which can appear significantly bigger and brighter than other full moons, will take place consecutively, during the last three months of 2025. This month, of course, it's all about the Snow Moon, which will reach peak illumination on the morning of Wednesday, February 12, at 8:53 A.M. EST. However, the moon will not be visible at this time because it'll be below the horizon. According to The Farmer's Almanac, instead of looking for it then, you should keep your eyes peeled for the Snow Moon the night before, or later on Wednesday. Look for it in the east right above the horizon around sunset and high in the sky at about midnight. If you go moon gazing earlier in the evening of the 12th rather than later, you can expect this heavenly body to seem bigger than normal, even though it won't be a Supermoon. That's due to what's known as a moon illusion, the optical illusion that occurs when the moon is located close to the horizon, making it appear larger than it usually does. But no matter how big it seems, the moon is actually pretty puny, with a diameter of just 2,160 miles. That's less than the width of the United States, and only a little more than a quarter of Earth's diameter. The term Snow Moon comes from The Farmer's Almanac, which began publishing the names of full moons back in the 1930s. They're mostly of Indigenous American origin, with some taken from Colonial American and European sources. Like December's Cold Moon, a moniker that brings to mind the season's chill, the second full moon of the year is named for North America's typical winter weather. In addition to the principal name associated with each full moon, The Farmer's Almanac also lists a variety of other descriptors for them. To the Cree, February's moon was known as the Hungry Moon and the Month of the Bony Moon, both names evoking a time of scarcity when finding food is difficult. Other names for this moon include the Ojibwe Bear Moon and Tlingit Black Bear Moon, which reference the critter commonly born in February. Across the pond, the Celts dubbed February's moon the Ice Moon. It was called the Midwinter Moon by the Oneida people and the poetic When Trees Crack Because of Cold Moon by the Lakotas, with the Comanche nation named it simply Sleet Moon. Most Indigenous Americans, who kept track of time by the passage of the seasons as well as the lunar month, referred to the entire lunar month by the name of its moon. Other full moons include June's Strawberry Moon, when tribes harvested the wild fruit, and the Sturgeon Moon of August, which was traditionally a good time to catch the fish found in Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes. Next month, March 14 will bring the Full Worm Moon, so named for the creatures that come wriggling to the ground's surface as it thaws. While March will be jam-packed with exciting celestial events, including a partial solar eclipse and a total lunar eclipse, February is going to be a bit quieter. But that doesn't mean it won't be worth breaking out the telescope or binoculars, even during the full moon. This phase's bright glow may wash out other, less luminous heavenly bodies (like galaxies), but you can still search for beautiful lunar features during it, such as craters. There also might be a halo noticeable around the Snow Moon, a result of moonlight coming through the clouds. This year, the Snow Moon will appear in the zodiacal constellation Leo the Lion, although some years it may be in Cancer, or the small constellation Sextans, next to Leo. (It will visit the Cancer constellation next year, and Sextans in 2029.) Try to take a peek at 2025's Snow Moon at 6:21 p.m. ET, when it will pass just to the left of Regulus. Leo's brightest star, it's dazzling enough to show up even next to the Snow Moon! Speaking of the zodiac, if you're a fan of astrology, you might want to celebrate this Snow Moon by expressing your creative, passionate side. Celebrate Valentine's Day early by dressing to the nines for dinner out. Go dancing. Kick off an art project. Leo is the astrological sign of romance, glamour, pleasure, and self-expression! You could also book a salon appointment for a bold new haircut or color—after all, as much as their courage and generosity, Leo the Lions are known for their magnificent manes. Not every February offers a Snow Moon. About once every 19 years, there's no full moon at all in February, which is called a Black Moon. The last time this happened was in 2018, and it won't occur again for another 12 years. Of course, sometimes the moon may disappear entirely for a spell, an event known as a lunar eclipse. This takes place when the full moon enters the Earth's shadow, resulting in one of three types of eclipses: total, partial, or penumbral. We can look forward to seeing a total eclipse March 13-14 across the entire United States. While lunar eclipses can happen anywhere from four to seven times a year, they aren't always visible from North America. We won't be able to see the total lunar eclipse coming September 7, for example, although the one that will take place on March 3, 2026 will be visible to us. A much rarer moon is the Super Blue Moon, which happens when a Supermoon is the second full moon in a calendar month. Blue Moons occur because the lunar cycle, which is about 29.5 days long, is slightly shorter than the average calendar month, so every two or three years we get a moon both at the beginning of the month and the end of it. According to NASA, Super Blue Moons light up the skies only every decade on average, although we can go as little as two months or as long as 20 years between them. The last one took place August 30-31, 2023; the next Super Blue Moon isn't predicted to rise until 2037, when there will be two that year, one in January, and one in February. You Might Also Like 70 Impressive Tiny Houses That Maximize Function and Style 30+ Paint Colors That Will Instantly Transform Your Kitchen
