BANNER ELK — Wally, the winning woolly worm at this year’s Woolly Worm Festival, is forecasting a cold and snowy beginning to the winter season. The champion worm's prediction, released by festival officials after the traditional race, offers a week-by-week outlook for the coming months, interpreted from the distinct color bands of Wally's coat.
The methodology for this long-standing prediction involves reading each segment of the winning woolly worm’s coat, with each segment corresponding to a specific week of winter. The festival's key assigns a particular meaning to each color, indicating temperature and precipitation expectations.
According to the festival’s interpretation of Wally’s coat, the first segment is black. This color signals below-average temperatures and snow for Week 1 of winter, setting a chilly tone from the outset. Following this cold introduction, Weeks 2 and 3 feature amber segments, which point to average temperatures for those periods.
The forecast then shifts again for Week 4, which is marked by a fleck, a mix of colors. This fleck segment indicates below-average temperatures accompanied by snow or frost. After this colder interlude, the prediction calls for a sustained period of average temperatures through the core of winter. Weeks 5 through 12 are all amber, suggesting consistent average conditions during these central weeks.
As winter draws to a close, Week 13 again displays a fleck. This final fleck suggests a return to below-average temperatures with snow or frost, indicating what the festival's reading describes as a "chilly finish" to the season.
The festival's comprehensive color key provides the foundation for these segment-by-segment predictions. A black segment, such as the one seen for Week 1, specifically means below-average temperatures and snow. Dark brown segments denote below-average temperatures without guaranteed snow. Amber, prominent in Wally's forecast for numerous weeks, signifies average temperatures, ranging from 20° to 40°. Light brown segments would indicate above-average temperatures, though none appear in Wally's prediction. Lastly, a fleck, or a mix of colors, consistently points to below-average temperatures with either snow or frost.
While the accuracy of such traditional forecasts remains subject to nature's whims, High Country residents traditionally pay close attention to these predictions as they prepare for the colder months. The community will undoubtedly be watching the skies to see if Wally's forecast holds true. The photos and the detailed prediction have been provided courtesy of the Woolly Worm Festival.
