Miller Family Farm near Saxonburg.

This is an excerpt of a full article that will appear in Sunday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to learn about the differences between the two almanacs and the effect their predictions could have on local farms. The winter outlook is frigid and white, or so says the Farmers' Almanac.With conditions predicted as “colder-than-normal” with above-average snowfall, Pennsylvania could be in for a long, hard winter — one that might last through spring.“Overall, we're calling this winter a 'polar-coaster,'” said Sandi Duncan, Farmers' Almanac managing editor.According to Duncan, winter temperatures will be up and down for most of the region. In Western Pennsylvania, winter could be “white and wet” and hard to shake.The almanac is published out of Maine and provides 16-month weather forecasts for North America by using a mathematical and astronomical formula that was originally developed in 1818. It claims 80 to 85 percent accuracy.The Old Farmer's Almanac of New Hampshire has a slightly different forecast. Established in 1792, it uses solar science, climatology and meteorology. It claims 80 percent accuracy.“Our meteorologist keeps (records),” said senior editor Sarah Perreault.The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts above-normal temperatures for Western Pennsylvania, but heavier precipitation this coming winter. It says winter will be coldest from January to March, but snow will fall heaviest in November, January and March.

This is an excerpt of a full article that will appear in Sunday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to learn about the differences between the two almanacs and the effect their predictions could have on local farms.