Dear Weather Watcher,
On March 29, 1921, residents of Washington, D.C., started their day feeling the warmth of a spring Sun. In fact, at 82°F, the temperature was well above average for that time of year. By the end of the day, however, the temperature had dropped 56 degrees, to a frigid 26°F.
March is named for the Roman god of war, Mars. Had you lived in D.C. at the time, you may have felt like March was aptly named and was waging war on spring. March, however, is also a time of transition. This year, the spring equinox occurs on March 20 at 5:58 p.m., officially ushering in spring. It’s also in March (and early April) when most of the country will see the last spring frost and many of us will gather our rakes and hoes and spades and seeds and get our gardens into the ground.
Of course, you can’t talk about planting without talking about the weather, and that last spring frost date is a vital part of a successful garden. It takes only a light freeze to kill tender plants, and temperatures a mere 4 degrees below freezing may be widely destructive to most plants.
When are those last spring frost dates? Your local geography plays a big role, but generally speaking, if you live in these locations, it’s almost (or might already be) time to grow:
- The last spring frost in Mobile, Alabama, is March 6.
- In Savannah, Georgia, the last spring frost is March 15, and it’s 2 days later, March 17, in Monroe, Louisiana, and Charleston, South Carolina.
- Moving into April, the last spring frost in Athens, Georgia, and Lawton, Oklahoma, is on April 3. It’s April 5 in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and April 6 in Eureka, California, while in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the date of the last spring frost is April 8.
Live in Omaha? Cedar Rapids? Somewhere else? You’ll have to take a look at this year’s Old Farmer’s Almanac to find out when you can expect the last frost of the season. Don’t worry, though: You get a brand-new copy of the Almanac as part of your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership. |
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| Planting Dates You Need to Know | If you haven’t already started seeds indoors, now is the time. Once the last spring frost has come and gone, those seedlings can go outside for some fresh air and sunshine. What else can you plant? How about asparagus?
Many asparagus beds last 20 years or more and may produce a half-pound of spears per foot of row over the 8-week harvest period in spring and early summer. Spring is the time to plant asparagus. The one thing to be aware of, however, is that to establish a strong root system, you shouldn’t harvest your asparagus in the first year.
There are plenty of crops that you can harvest this year, though. Throughout the southern, mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and northern Pacific parts of the U.S., here are some planting dates that are coming up very soon. |  | - Broccoli: February 15 to March 15 in Area 1 (southern U.S.), and March 7–31 in Area 2 (mid-Atlantic, Northwest, and Midwest)
- Carrots: February 15 to March 7 in Area 1, and March 7–31 in Area 2
- Cucumbers: March 7 to April 15 in Area 1, and April 7 to June 15 in Area 2
- Parsley: February 20 to March 15 in Area 1, and the entire month of March in Area 2 (so no excuses!)
- Parsnips: February 20 to March 15 in Area 1, March 7–31 in Area 2, and if you’re in Area 3 (the rest of the U.S. and lower Canada), you can plant parsnips anytime in April!
Get the planting dates for three dozen popular crops, along with valuable tips on storing, jarring, and pickling, all as part of your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership. | | Why Is It So Cold—and So Warm? | You’ve probably heard your local weather reporter blame bitterly cold weather on the polar vortex. But what is that? The polar vortex is a fast-flowing jet stream of air that circles the North Pole about 20 miles above Earth’s surface, in the stratosphere.
A strong polar vortex keeps most of the frigid Arctic air in the polar region, resulting in mild winter temperatures in the middle latitudes of the eastern U.S. and in northern Europe and Asia. Under normal winter conditions, the polar vortex is strong enough to keep the coldest air bottled up in the north.
In recent winters, exceptionally mild temperatures far in the north weaken the polar vortex and cause the jet stream to wobble. The once-trapped cold air then flows south, bringing icy temperatures to the U.S.
So, although it may seem counterintuitive, it’s that warmer weather in the northern regions that is responsible for record-breaking cold weather in the U.S.
Find out more about the polar vortex, what triggers these warming (and thus, cooling) events in the stratosphere, and what we might expect in the future, with your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership. |
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| Special Charter Membership Invitation - 60% OFF
The Old Farmer's Almanac Weather Club! |
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Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools!
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With your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership, you get everything you need to be ready for any weather, including The Old Farmer’s Almanac, our Weather Notebook, this year’s Weather Watcher’s Wall Calendar, and The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA!, our monthly digital magazine that includes articles on weather, gardening, and other content not found in the print edition. It’s a great way to keep up-to-date on Almanacky topics throughout the year.
With an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership, you’ll learn more about:
- Current weather trends and fascinating insight into climate and weather topics
- How to measure the windchill, and why the wind makes the air feel colder than it really is
- How to measure wind speed using only your own powers of observation
- The expected weather in your part of the country for each month of the year
- Our method for predicting the weather (and how accurate we’ve been) since 1792
- The Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific storm names for this year, plus which names have been retired
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| Get your Charter Membership in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club today—with resources to make your weather watching more enjoyable. From sunrise to moonrise, blizzard to summer breeze, you’ll enjoy each day a little more with these fabulous weather resources! | With your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership, you get everything you need to be ready for any weather:
- Weather Notebook: Whether you like to get right into the heart of the storm or you’d rather watch the weather from the comfort of your favorite chair, this notebook is the perfect place to log the daily weather. There’s space for you to record the weather essentials, including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and more. With room for 4 years of daily observations, over time you’ll be able to track—and even predict—local weather conditions.
- 2019 Weather Watcher’s Wall Calendar: Mother Nature puts on spectacular shows around the world, and we’ve captured some of the most amazing weather moments for you in our 10-7/8" x 16-3/4" Weather Watcher’s Calendar. From northern lights in Norway to a dramatic dust storm in Africa, each month of our Weather Watcher’s Calendar will bring you a stunning new photo. Each month also features a key event in history, from freezing rivers to crippling blizzards to the unusual sighting of a blue Sun. The “Ask the Old Farmer” section gives you detailed answers about unusual weather phenomena. The information sidebar gives you a little poem that summarizes the essence of each month.
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac: This special softcover edition of the 2019 Almanac has a hole drilled in the corner for easy hanging. (In the old days, people would hang it in the outhouse.) Just like its hardcover partner, the Almanac is packed with the tips, trivia, and insights that make it a family favorite.
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! Our monthly digital magazine includes articles on weather, gardening, and other content not found in the print edition. It’s a great way to keep up-to-date on Almanacky topics throughout the year.
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| Special Charter Membership Invitation - 60% OFF
The Old Farmer's Almanac Weather Club! |
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Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools!
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| An Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership will deliver exciting rewards for you—and at a special introductory rate, right now, for all new Charter Members. | When you claim your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership today, you’ll enjoy these benefits and more:
- Know your snow. There’s more to snowflakes than meets the eye, and you’ll become an expert at identifying snow crystals—and you can use that knowledge to predict your local weather.
- Explore extreme weather. Read the stories behind wild weather occurrences, including tornados, lightning, dust storms, and more.
- Share weather wisdom. Some weather proverbs have endured for a reason. Save your favorite weather sayings for a rainy day—or any time you want to share them.
- Predict and plan. Use the handy Moon, tide, and weather guides throughout the year to help you map out your activities.
How can you not consider becoming an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Member? | | What You’ll Get With an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership | There’s so much weather knowledge to gain as a Charter Member of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club:
Each day brings its own weather gifts, and you can keep track of them as you log your observations in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Notebook. This handy notebook is chock-full of weather facts and has space for you to chronicle the weather day by day for 4 years!
This weather notebook makes taking observations a pleasure:
- Space to record daily temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and special weather conditions
- Packed with reference charts and beautiful weather photos
- A new weather proverb for each day
- Weatherproof softcover binding
- Attached red ribbon marker so that you never lose your place
As you watch the days pass from season to season, enjoy the vibrant photography in our Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Watcher’s Calendar. This compact calendar is the perfect size to fit on the wall in your kitchen or den or right by your office window. Each month features fabulous photographs of Mother Nature at her best—intense, peaceful, spectacular.
Get additional weather insight each month with the “Ask the Old Farmer” section, where you’ll find detailed answers to questions about weather topics ranging from the effects of erupting volcanos to the color of lightning. You’ll love the photography, proverbs, and weather lore in our 2019 Weather Watcher’s Wall Calendar!
In the convenient, hangable, softcover edition of the 2019 Almanac, you’ll find a section dedicated to the weather: predictions, history, tips, and trivia. The weather outlook for the entire country is there at your fingertips—just check out your region for a month-by-month breakdown of what you can expect. You’ll be prepared for anything!
Here’s a taste of some of the weather information that you’ll find in the 2019 Almanac:
- Check our accuracy (we do) with a comparison of last year’s predictions against the actual data.
- Focus on your home base with detailed weather predictions month by month—including a handy temperature/precipitation chart to give you an overview of the year.
- See how we use the Sun and Moon in our weather predictions.
- Safety first: Learn how thick the ice must be before you venture out onto the pond or lake.
- Be ready for severe heat and cold with our handy heat index and windchill table.
- Don’t have a weather station of your own? Follow our tips for measuring weather features like hail size and wind speed.
- Just in case, we have guidelines for measuring the strength of earthquakes and tornados.
- Be ready for hurricane season with the list of hurricane names for 2019 for both the Atlantic and Pacific and review the list of hurricane names retired from the rotation because of their strength and destructiveness.
And because we know that things change, each month you’ll get new articles and original content with our digital magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA! It’s a treasure trove of Almanac information that you won’t find in the printed edition, including audio and video content. EXTRA! leads you to some interactive fun when you’re ready for a change of pace.
And all of this is available to you—right now—when you claim your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership. |
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| Special Charter Membership Invitation - 60% OFF
The Old Farmer's Almanac Weather Club! |
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Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools!
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| What are you waiting for? Become a Charter Member of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club today! | | No other Almanac has so many fun and fascinating facts, timely and accurate events and predictions, and topical and useful articles all in one place for your easy access and use—and covering more regions of North America than any other Almanac or resource! Add The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Notebook, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Watcher’s Calendar, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA!, and you’ll be ready for any weather, fair or foul! | | Why Not Join Right Now? | | Weather watchers everywhere have been using The Old Farmer’s Almanac for years to help keep an eye on the weather, and now The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership offers you an impressive set of weather watching resources all in one place! |
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60%-OFF Charter Offer for You—Join Today!
When you respond today, you’ll be among a select group of Almanac friends to take advantage of this special Weather Club Charter Membership offer.
With your Charter Membership, you’ll receive The Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Notebook, the 2019 Weather Watcher’s Calendar, the 2019 Old Farmer’s Almanac, and a subscription to our monthly digital magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac EXTRA!
Rain or snow, heat or cold, be ready for any weather—with this incredible deal!
This is a limited-time offer that you should take advantage of right now. |
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When we first created the Weather Club, we wanted to make it easy to use, easy to order, and packed with valuable weather-related content that you could put to use right away. Be the best weather watcher you can be with your Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Membership.
Sincerely,
Janice Stillman
Editor
The Old Farmer’s Almanac
P.S. Why not be among the first to join us today and benefit from the valuable Almanac weather information that you can’t get anywhere else? Become an Old Farmer’s Almanac Weather Club Charter Member today—while this special offer lasts! |
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| Special Charter Membership Invitation - 60% OFF
The Old Farmer's Almanac Weather Club! |
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Celebrate the wonders of the weather with the perfect tools!
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