The Old Farmer's Almanac 2015 (21 page)

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until they form a paste. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to let the mixture thicken. Remove from the refrigerator and let warm to room temperature. Spread the mixture on washed, dry skin. Avoid the area around the eyes. Sit or lie down for 15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water.

CHICKPEA FACIAL

Use Kasturi turmeric
(Curcuma aromatic)
because regular turmeric can temporarily stain the skin.

In a small bowl, mix the chickpea flour and turmeric. Store the mixture in an airtight bottle. When ready to use, place a teaspoon of the mixture in a small bowl and add enough yogurt to make a paste. Apply the paste evenly to the face and leave on until it dries, about 10 to 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

WRINKLE RELAXER

Wash the grapes, then cut them in half. Gently massage each half onto the face and neck. Let dry for 20 minutes, then rinse off and pat dry. Repeat every day, or as needed.

For skin

WALNUT SCRUB

Get rid of rough patches on your hands, feet, and elbows! The oil in the walnuts provides gentle exfoliation and the olive oil adds extra moisture. The honey helps to seal the moisture into the skin.

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is reduced to fine particles. Gently rub on hands, feet, or elbows for several minutes. Rinse with warm water.

COFFEE SCRUB

Coffee grounds work to help diminish cellulite and varicose veins, in addition to improving circulation and smoothing the skin’s texture.

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Massage gently on the skin, then rinse with warm water.

CITRUS SPLASH TONER

For oily skin

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and apply to the face, using a cotton ball. Store the remaining mixture in a jar. Shake before using again.

HERBAL SPLASH TONER

For normal or dry skin

Chop the parsley and place in a small bowl. Pour the water over the parsley and let it cool. Strain the liquid into a jar. Apply to the face, using a cotton ball.

Extreme makeovers

• Women in ancient Rome rubbed the ashes of ground snails on their skin to get rid of dark spots, mixed soot with water and applied it to their eyebrows to darken them, and “shaved” off body hair by rubbing their skin with a pumice stone.
  
• Women of the 17th century cut small star or Moon shapes from velvet or silk fabric and pasted them on their faces to cover facial scars, which were often the result of smallpox.
  
• Women in the 18th and 19th centuries pasted strips of mouse fur on top of their eyebrows to enhance their allure, covered blemishes with mercury, dabbed white lead on their faces to attain a pale complexion, and ate small amounts of arsenic to brighten their skin and eyes.
  

Martie Majoros
,
a frequent contributor to Almanac publications, writes from the shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont.

We derive our weather forecasts from a secret formula that was devised by the founder of this Almanac, Robert B. Thomas, in 1792. Thomas believed that weather on Earth was influenced by sunspots, which are magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun.

Over the years, we have refined and enhanced that formula with state-of-the-art technology and modern scientific calculations. We employ three scientific disciplines to make our long-range predictions: solar science, the study of sunspots and other solar activity; climatology, the study of prevailing weather patterns; and meteorology, the study of the atmosphere. We predict weather trends and events by comparing solar patterns and historical weather conditions with current solar activity.

Our forecasts emphasize temperature and precipitation deviations from averages, or normals. These are based on 30-year statistical averages prepared by government meteorological agencies and updated every 10 years. The most-recent tabulations span the period 1981 through 2010.

We believe that nothing in the universe happens haphazardly, that there is a cause-and-effect pattern to all phenomena. However, although neither we nor any other forecasters have as yet gained sufficient insight into the mysteries of the universe to predict the weather with total accuracy, our results are almost always very close to our traditional claim of 80%.

How Accurate Was Our Forecast Last Winter?

Our prediction for winter 2013–14—“we expect much of the nation to have below-normal winter temperatures and above-normal snowfall”—was correct, although conditions were even colder and snowier than we had forecast in the eastern two-thirds of the nation. Our forecast of above-normal precipitation for the Pacific coast was incorrect, as California instead had one of its driest winters on record. In retrospect, perhaps we should have forecast this drought, as the highly amplified pattern that would lead to a cold and snowy winter in the East also suggests a mild and dry winter in the Southwest. We apologize for not giving this factor more weight.

We were correct in our forecast for temperature change from the previous winter in 15 of the 18 regions, an 83% accuracy rate, missing only the Pacific Southwest and the Desert Southwest. Our prediction for the change in precipitation from the previous winter was 78% accurate, missing in the Pacific and Intermountain states and the Appalachians. Overall, our accuracy rate for the winter season was 80.6%.

The accuracy of our winter season temperature forecasts is shown below, using a city selected from each region. On average, our forecasts differed from actual conditions by 1.78 degrees F.

Local 7-day weather forecasts for postal codes in the United States and Canada, as well as long-range weather predictions and weather history, are available at
Almanac.com/Weather
.

Northeast

SUMMARY:
Winter will be much colder than normal, with near-normal precipitation and below-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in mid- and late December, early and mid-January, and mid- to late February. The snowiest periods will be in mid- to late November, mid- and late December, and early to mid-March.

April and May will be warmer and wetter than normal in the north and much warmer and drier than normal in the south.

Summer will be hotter than normal, with below-normal rainfall. The hottest periods will occur in early June, early July, mid- to late July, and early August.

September and October will be warmer and slightly wetter than normal.

NOV. 2014:
Temp. 37° (1° above avg. north, 3° below south); precip. 3.5″ (avg.). 1–8 Rainy periods, mild. 9–10 Flurries and sprinkles. 11–13 Rain to snow, turning cold. 14–21 Snow showers, cold. 22–24 Rain to snow. 25–30 Snow showers, cold.

DEC. 2014:
Temp. 24° (4° below avg.); precip. 5″ (2″ above avg.). 1–5 Rainy periods, mild. 6–11 Snow showers, cold. 12–18 Snowstorm, then sunny, bitter cold. 19–23 Heavy rain and snow, then sunny, cold. 24–31 Snow, then sunny, very cold.

JAN. 2015:
Temp. 18° (5° below avg.); precip. 2″ (1″ below avg.). 1–9 Snow showers, very cold. 10–17 Snow, then flurries, cold. 18–22 Snow, then rain, turning mild. 23–27 Sunny, then rainy, quite mild. 28–31 Snow, then sunny, mild.

FEB. 2015:
Temp. 20° (3° below avg.); precip. 1.5″ (1″ below avg.). 1–2 Sunny, mild. 3–8 Rain, then snowy periods, very cold. 9–15 Sunny, seasonable. 16–20 Snow showers, very cold. 21–24 Flurries, cold. 25–28 Showers, mild.

MAR. 2015:
Temp. 33° (1° below avg.); precip. 3″ (1″ above avg. north, 1″ below south). 1–4 Snow showers, cold. 5–12 Snow, then sunny, turning warmer. 13–20 Periods of rain and snow, mild. 21–25 Sunny, cold. 26–31 Heavy rain to snow, then sunny, cool.

APR. 2015:
Temp. 49° (3° above avg.); precip. 3″ (1″ above avg. north, 1″ below south). 1–9 Showers, then sunny, turning warm. 10–17 Rainy periods, cool. 18–23 Sunny, becoming very warm. 24–30 A few showers, turning cool.

MAY 2015:
Temp. 57.5° (1° below avg. north, 4° above south); precip. 3.5″ (1″ above avg. north, 1″ below south). 1 Rainy, cool. 2–7 Showers; cool north, warm south. 8–13 Showers, then sunny, seasonable. 14–19 Showers, cool. 20–23 Sunny, cool. 24–31 Scattered t-storms; very warm, then cool.

JUNE 2015:
Temp. 65° (avg.); precip. 3″ (0.5″ below avg.). 1–4 Sunny, hot. 5–7 T-storms, then sunny, cool. 8–12 Scattered t-storms, warm. 13–22 A few showers, cool. 23–26 Daily showers, turning warm. 27–30 T-storms, then sunny, seasonable.

JULY 2015:
Temp. 72° (2° above avg.); precip. 2.5″ (1.5″ below avg.). 1–3 Sunny, very warm. 4–8 Scattered showers, cool. 9–15 T-storms, then sunny, nice. 16–20 Sunny, hot. 21–26 A few t-storms, hot and humid. 27–31 Sunny, cool.

AUG. 2015:
Temp. 67° (1° above avg.); precip. 4″ (avg.). 1–4 Sunny, hot. 5–9 T-storms, then sunny, hot. 10–18 Scattered t-storms, cool. 19–21 T-storms, warm. 22–31 Scattered t-storms, cool.

SEPT. 2015:
Temp. 61° (2° above avg.); precip. 6″ (2″ above avg.). 1–6 Showers, then sunny, cool. 7–14 Scattered showers, turning warm. 15–19 Showers, mild north; sunny, hot south. 20–26 Rainy periods, turning cool. 27–30 Sunny, turning warm.

OCT. 2015:
Temp. 52° (4° above avg.); precip. 2.5″ (1″ below avg.). 1–4 Sunny, warm. 5–8 Showers, mild. 9–13 Rain to snow, then sunny, cold. 14–19 Rainy periods, mild. 20–26 Sunny; seasonable, then warm. 27–31 Sprinkles, seasonable.