Wooly worms and persimmons: What's really in store this Winter

In the days before computer models and other high tech forecasting gadgets, people relied on 'signs' of a severe Winter. Spoons in a persimmon meant shoveling a lot of snow; wooly bear caterpillars with more black meant a harsher winter.

The truth? For the most part, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, these signs are pretty much on target.

And the latest computer models from Accuweather seem to back that up. While it appears the worst of Winter may not hit along the Missouri/Kansas line, there are concerns about citrus crops in the southeast; along with frequent storms in the upper northeast. Since many of those storms track from west to east, we're bound to see a reasonable amount of ice and snow from them.

Some good news- there are  no indicators of the severity of snow like we experienced in the late 1970's; or long periods of extreme cold either. 

So who is more accurate in forecasting Winter? An insect or a computer generated long term forecast? We'll see.