Farmers' Almanac, Old Farmer's Almanac Forecast Contradicting Winters – Who's Right?

There are two Farmers Almanacs. In one corner, we have the Old Farmer's Almanac, established in 1792. In the other corner, you have the Farmers' Almanac, established in 1818.

Not only are they completely different publications, but they both have completely different predictions for the upcoming 2016-2017 winter.

Who should we believe?

Age before beauty, so let's talk about the Old Farmer's Almanac first. They've predicted a mild winter. This includes the area of the country where Chicago is located – mild temperatures, but more snow. The Upper Midwest is an exception, where it will be colder than average.

The Farmers' Almanac paints a very different picture. They prefaced their winter predictions with "Old Man Winter Returns!"

"While last winter was a reprieve from shoveling and high fuel bills, the party is over," they wrote.

For the Great Lakes region where Chicago is located, they predict numbing cold and snow.

"The 2017 Farmers' Almanac ... forewarns that exceptionally cold, if not downright frigid weather will predominate over parts of the Northern Plains, Great Lakes, Midwest, Ohio Valley, the Middle Atlantic, Northeast, and New England this winter," they wrote.

So who's right? While Farmers' Almanac claims their forecasts are about 80 percent accurate, meteorologists disagree. They predict Farmers' Almanac is right less than half the time.

How accurate is the Old Farmer's Almanac? They, too, claim 80 percent accuracy. Dr. John Walsh, of the University of Illinois Department of Atmospheric Sciences, claims their accuracy is closer to 52 percent.

The only thing they can both predict with certainty: winter is coming.