Old Farmer's Almanac Expects Continued Drought

September 20, 1999

Extreme heat and the spread of the eastern drought will characterize the summer of 2000, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Record July and August temperatures along with below average rainfall are expected by the venerable almanac.

Writing for the American Farm Bureau Federation, AFBF broadcast services director Stewart Truelsen notes that the title page of the 2000 almanac depicts Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture, watering flowers. In the background is a farmer plowing a field. "If the almanac's weather forecast is accurate, Ceres is going to need more than a water jar," writes Truelsen. "Crops are going to be very thirsty."

The article quotes almanac group publisher John Pierce. "We see a serious possibility of some drought in the major grain growing regions of the country," he says. "Our prediction is that (the eastern United States) will get more nearly normal rainfall next year, but the dryness will move to the other side of the Appalachians and pretty much from the Rockies to the Appalachians and from Texas north should see below average rainfall next summer."

Pierce says the almanac is correct about eight times out of ten on a seasonal basis. The 1999 Old Farmer's Almanac correctly predicted heat waves and below normal precipitation this summer for the Northeast.

The forecast this winter is for a relatively mild winter across much of the country. Above-normal precipitation will occur in the upper elevations, particularly the northern Rocky and Sierra Nevada mountains and the northern part of New England.

Truelsen's article is available on the Internet at