What kind of winter will we have? Check the Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack
There are sure signs that autumn is coming to Washington County and its surroundings.
Cooler nights.
School buses.
Apples and peaches.
And the arrival of J. Gruber's Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack, famously first published by John Gruber in Hagerstown toward the end of the 18th century.
Now in its 227th year, this local essential is once again full of the weather prognostications and folklore, inspiration and handy information and trivia we've all come to expect.
"I guess it's a Hagerstown staple just like Krumpe's," quipped meteorologist Chad Merrill.
And of course, the main thing everybody wants to know from the almanack is what the weather's going to be like. So let's get to that.
An average winter?
Expect the winter chill to start setting in after Nov. 10-11, said Merrill, who prepares the almanack's forecast and recently earned the National Weather Association's Seal of Approval.
"And then I think that this coming December will be a lot different than last year," he said. "Last year was a very warm December. I think this December will feature a handful of days where there will be some light snow accumulation, and I do think that a storm very close to Christmas could produce a white Christmas, potentially, from (Interstate) 81 west."
For the most part, December's weather "will be more like average," he said. "I think there will be some accumulation. I'm not expecting a large winter storm, per se, but think there will be 1 or 2, maybe 3 inches of snow in late December."
Expect an early January thaw, Merrill said, before winter patterns return "and we get 95% of our snow from about Jan. 25 until March 20." Average yearly snowfall in Hagerstown is about 26 inches; Merrill's predicting a little less than that, suggesting this year's snowfall could be about 20 to 23 inches.
"I don't think there's going to be a blockbuster storm that produces 1 to 2 feet of snow accumulation in Hagerstown," he said.
That's because this will be the third consecutive winter for a la Niña weather pattern "across the globe," he said, with the equatorial Pacific being cooler than average.
This triple-dip is a rare phenomenon, apparently. Merrill only had statistics for two others, culminating in the winter of 1975-76 which brought 12 inches of snow to Hagerstown, and 2000-2001, which saw 22.9 inches here.
There could be several "mixed precipitation events," however, with transitions from snow to sleet to freezing rain and rain. So have your boots at the ready regardless of what form the stuff falling from the sky might take.
Look for winter weather to taper off around March 20, with the growing season starting in mid-April — "slightly earlier than average," he said.
But for all the important planting details, be sure to check the almanack.
You need this little book
"Gardeners are our main readers," as are farming hobbyists, said Jerry Spessard, the almanack's business manager.
They buy it "mainly for planting," he said. "I'll tell you, a lot of people buy this almanack because of the planting, you know, telling you the best time to (plant) above-ground crops, your below-ground crops.
"We have like three peak seasons, and that's in the fall and then the new year, and in the garden season," he said.
Many of the readers are older, he said, but sometimes adult children buy it for parents who don't have internet service, and "they'll call me and say, 'Oh my gosh, this is really interesting — I want one for myself.'"
Printing costs have risen over the years, and younger readers often drift to internet sites. But for Spessard and editor Chad Fisher, it's a family tradition passed down from Gruber — often through sons-in-law — to the present.
And Merrill might be right; imagining Hagerstown without the almanack would be like Hagerstown without Krumpe's doughnuts.
"We try to present ourselves in a way that continues to keep us in the forefront in many people's decisions when they go and buy a publication like this," Fisher said.
And in keeping up with the technology of the time, they offer digital editions of the almanack online.
But the standard information about sunrises, moon phases and holidays — interspersed with farming and household tips, 16 months of weather forecasts and various features and witticisms — remains, regardless of format.
Like most publications, even the almanack has had its truck with controversy. Although the whole world has been talking about climate change for decades, some readers thought the almanack got too political when it ran a feature on a Trump-era report about the economic impact of climate change, Fisher said.
"I was really kind of taken aback by it, by some of the emails we had gotten that we really had no business going down that path with this 'phony liberal report,'" he said. "And it really told us that our readers were a little more sensitive to some of the things that maybe we weren't … maybe we were a little unaware."
So they decided to devote more attention to core interests, "which are weather topics, garden topics."
And even if you're not a farmer or gardener, you can use the observations in the almanack to plan trips or events.
"Also there's a lot of just basic information that's included," he added, including a list of past presidents.
There's also a large multiplication table on the back cover that resembles a Christmas tree. John Gruber developed that himself, Fisher said.
"I'm not sure what year he had developed it or when it first appeared on the back cover," he said, "but it works really handily. And I'll tell you, it's come in handy for me sometimes."
Where to get the Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack
You can order a printed version of the almanack from the website, almanack.com, for $8.45 ($5.95 for the book and $2.50 for shipping and handling), or become a "Friend of the Almanack" for $15 and get a printed version, downloadable versions of the 2022 and 2023 editions, monthly newsletters and more.
Or you can purchase the almanack at these locations:
Martin's Farm Market, Hagerstown
Shawley's Hardware, Lappans
Sunnycrest Farm & Home Center, Cavetown
Cedar Cliff Farm Supply, Clear Spring
Wilson's Store, Clear Spring
Boonsboro Pharmacy, Boonsboro
Turn the Page Bookstore & Cafe, Boonsboro
Mr. Hardware, Hancock
Battleview Market, Sharspburg
Sharpsburg Pharmacy, Sharpsburg
Williamsport Pharmacy, Williamsport
Sanders Market, Cascade
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: 2023 Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack has your yearly forecast
