The Farmer’s Almanac makes forecasts using a 19th century mathematical and astronomical formula. The Old Farmer’s Almanac uses solar science, climatology and meteorology.

But according to folklore — and both almanac websites — nature predicts winter all year long.

How much snow will there be?

“See how high the hornet’s nest, ’twill tell how high the snow will rest,” goes the proverb saying.

Here are 22 other folklore signs winter will be brutal, according to the publications’ websites.

Corn husks are thicker than normal

Woodpeckers share trees

Snowy owls migrate early

Geese and ducks fly south early

So do monarch butterflies

Cows grow thicker hair on the napes of their necks

There’s heavy fog in August

Raccoons have thicker tails and brighter bands

Mice chew furiously to get into houses

Crickets arrive early on the hearth

Spiders spin bigger webs and live in houses in bigger groups

Pigs gather sticks

Ants march in lines instead of meander

Bees seclude themselves in hives early

Acorns unusually are abundant

Muskrats burrow holes high on river banks

Woolly bears have narrow orange stripes and fuzzier coats

Squirrels gather nuts early

Rings occur frequently around the sun or moon

Moles dig holes more than 2 feet deep

Rabbits are fatter in October and November

Mushrooms grow more abundantly.