Subnormal November Harbingers Hard Winter, Weathermen Think

That ice outside may be more than not nice; according to the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory it is probably the harbinger of a long, colder-than-usual winter. Working from the calculations of a German seasonal forecasting expert, Professor Franz Baur, the meteorologists have concluded that this year's cold November may be an accurate barometer predicting lots more cold weather to come.

Professor Baur, working form charts of pressure, temperature, and air circulation, concluded that Southern New England winters can be keyed to the ferocity of November. This November was sufficiently ferocious. If Baur's theories are correct, there will be more cars frozen in, ear-muffs will continue to sell briskly, and the little men who run ski resorts will rub their chapped hands in glee.

The Observatory has also produced a formula for finding the coldest week of this cold winter. By checking over 67 years of records, the weathermen have decided that the week between January 30 and February 8 is the winter's coldest, with Groundhog Dav. February 2, putting the greatest squeeze on the thermometer. For the six weeks after that, the mean daily temperature will run at a frosty 31.7.