Cold, snowy winter?

While the two dueling almanacs and the National Weather Service predict how cold and snowy it will--or won't be--this winter, all I can think about is that it took me forever to dig out from under last year's huge Ameren heating bills.

There is a lot of discussion about what this winter holds, but truth-be-told the flip of a coin is as accurate as a forecast 30 days out.

Recently, the Associated Press took a stab at what this winter might look like.

The folks at the Farmers' Almanac can be forgiven for feeling smug: The 198-year-old publication correctly predicted the past nasty winter while federal forecasters blew it.

Memories of the polar vortex and relentless snowstorms won't soon be forgotten. And the editors of the publication are predicting more of the same for the coming season.

"Shivery and shovelry are back. We're calling for some frigid conditions, bitter conditions," said managing editor Sandi Duncan.

The latest edition, which went on sale last week, forecasts colder-than-normal and wetter-than-usual weather for three-quarters of the country east of the Rocky Mountains. Drought-stricken California, along with the Pacific Northwest, will see normal precipitation and cool temperatures this winter, the almanac said.

The publication, not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer's Almanac, uses a secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles for its long-range weather forecasts.

Modern science doesn't put much stock in the formula.

But even modern meteorologists can stumble on long-term forecasts. The national Climate Prediction Center forecast a strong likelihood of above-normal temperatures from last November through January.

"Not one of our better forecasts," Mike Halpert, the Climate Prediction Center's acting director, said at the time. There's still no good explanation as to why the polar vortex moved so deep into the U.S., he said.

Of the Farmers' Almanac, he said, "Good for them if they got it right last year, and I'll leave it at that."

The almanac's editor, Peter Geiger, can also gloat over his Super Bowl forecast. The almanac forecast a snowstorm Feb. 1-3 in New Jersey. It was 49 degrees at the start of the Super Bowl on Feb. 2, but a snowstorm created havoc the following morning. The almanac wasn't spot on everywhere: The Pacific Northwest was wetter than expected, and California and the Southwest were drier than projected.