**Related Video Above: Winter weather hit us on the last day of winter 2023.**

CLEVELAND (WJW) — In case you missed it, summer is still here. We haven’t even hit autumn, and yet some are already looking toward winter.

Specifically the Farmers’ Almanac is already waxing poetic about the winter ahead, recently releasing its 2023-2024 winter predictions for the country.

Back in 1978, FOX 8’s own Dick Goddard lent his weather expertise to the publication, offering up a list of 20 signs that meant a hard winter was on the way. The almanac recently re-published the folklore-filled list, saying it was just as applicable today as it was decades ago.

Here are the 20 things to look for:

  • Thicker-than-normal onions or corn husks
  • Woodpeckers sharing a tree
  • The early arrival of the snowy owl
  • The early departure of geese and ducks
  • The early migration of the Monarch butterfly
  • Thick hair on the nape of a cow’s neck
  • Heavy and numerous fogs during August
  • Raccoons with thick tails and bright bands
  • Mice chewing furiously to get into your home
  • The early arrival of crickets on the hearth
  • Spiders spinning larger-than-usual webs and entering the house in great numbers
  • Pigs gathering sticks
  • Ants marching in a line rather than meandering
  • Early seclusion of bees within the hive
  • Unusual abundance of acorns
  • Muskrats burrowing holes high on the river bank
  • “See how high the hornet’s nest, ‘twill tell how high the snow will rest.”
  • The size of the orange band on the woolly bear caterpillar
  • Squirrels gathering nuts early to fortify against a hard winter
  • Frequent halos or rings around the sun or moon forecasts numerous snowfalls

FOX 8 meteorologist Andre Bernier says the only thing on the list that has some merit is No. 7, regarding thick fog in the area. However, he makes clear that dense fog in River Valley locations only shows what is going on in the next two or three months and not the winter ahead.

Regarding the list as a whole, Bernier says “Interesting folklore, but all unprovable.”

Look for FOX 8 meteorologists to release their winter weather outlook the last week of October when scientific parameters are more applicable. The first day of winter is Dec. 21.