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Depending on when you are reading this, you are either enjoying the last few hours of summer or looking forward to fall adventures.
That's because the autumnal equinox officially will occur at 8:44 a.m. Sunday, and will mark the passage between the seasons.
This past week was interesting for those who like to look to the skies. On Tuesday evening, we had the opportunity to get a glimpse of a fairly unusual event. We had the chance to not only experience the Harvest Moon -- the full moon that comes closest to the beginning of fall -- but also a super moon and a partial lunar eclipse.
While clouds that came through our area late Tuesday evening made it tough for some residents of the Tri-State Area to enjoy the sight, it still was possible to catch a look or two of the event.
With all of that behind us, it's not too early to start looking ahead to what the fall and winter weather seasons might hold. And the logical places to turn to for that information are, of course, the almanacs.
Both the Old Farmer's and the Farmers' almanacs offered their predictions for the coming year around a month ago. And even though the editors at those publications have pored through all the indicators and proprietary formulas that have been handed down through generations, they have come up with differing views about what we might expect.
Old Farmer's, which has been published since 1792, is calling for a cold and dry winter for our region, while Farmers', which has only been around since 1818, predicts the Tri-State Area will be cold, wet and white.
Our winter will be colder than normal, Old Farmer's says, with the coldest periods coming in late November, late January into early February and late February. The snowiest periods, the almanac predicts, will come in late December, from late January into early February and late February.
Farmers' agrees that the coldest period in our area will fall in the last week January and the first week of February. That also, the prediction says, will be the snowiest period of the winter.
The almanacs seem to agree that the period around Thanksgiving will be unsettled and wet, and that the days before Christmas will be sunny and chilly.
They disagree on the period just after Christmas, with Old Farmer's calling for snowy and colder weather going into the new year, while Farmers' is calling for a cold and dry end to the year.
They also are predicting a rough end to January -- so much so that Farmers' reports it is "red flagging" the last week in the first month of the year and is calling for heavy precipitation along with strong and gusty winds, which means residents of the region can expect "copious amounts of snow, rain, sleet and ice (depending on where you live.)"
Old Farmer's concurs and calls for periods of snow and very cold temperatures between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31 and snowy periods with very cold temperatures between Feb. 1 and Feb. 10.
If you're wondering about the accuracy of the predictions, consider that each of the almanacs claims to be right a little more than 80 percent of the time. Old Farmer's, for its part, reports that last winter's forecast had an accuracy rate of just 64 percent.
What neither almanac saw coming, though, is the drought that has held a grip over our region for quite some time and grows each week.
In fact, both books were calling for showers just about every day during the last part of September.
Forecasts by the professionals seem to show a different story than the ones predicted by the almanacs. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, winter across our region is leaning toward featuring above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation in the period between December and February. The National Weather Service, meanwhile, predicts that for the period that runs through November, it's likely the Tri-State Area's temperatures will be above normal, while precipitation is likely to be in the normal range.
Forecasts for Thanksgiving and Christmas always get a lot of attention, but before we can get to either of those holidays, the focus of a large number of residents will be directed on Election Day, Nov. 5. And, again, both almanacs seem to be in agreement, calling for a chance of rain and cool temperatures. And that comes less than a week after Halloween, and the forecasts there call for sunny and cool weather.
Enjoy the fall -- and remember, winter will officially arrive at 4:21 a.m. on Dec. 21.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)