This Caterpillar Says Missouri’s Winter is Gonna Super Harsh

There are many who believe that if you want to know what the weather's going to do, find a wooly bear caterpillar. If the ones in Missouri are any indication, the upcoming winter is gonna be super harsh.

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If you think I'm imagining this wooly bear caterpillar weather prediction folklore, know that even the National Weather Service has addressed their prediction power. They add this detail saying "the amount of black on the woolly bear in autumn varies proportionately with the severity of the coming winter in the locality where the caterpillar is found.  The longer the woolly bear's black bands, the longer, colder, snowier, and more severe the winter will be".

So what are the wooly bear caterpillars saying about Missouri's upcoming winter in 2023/2024?

Just In Weather found several spotted just a few days ago in early October. While one was a mix of black and brown, another was ALL BLACK. Hello polar vortex? Remember that the longer the black band on a wooly bear caterpillar, the longer and more severe the winter. What in the world must ALL BLACK mean? Snow-mageddon?

The good news is that not everyone is convinced that wooly bear caterpillar's predict the upcoming winter. Some think their bands are a sign of what the previous winter was like. We shall see.

As of now, I'm gonna take that all black caterpillar as a sign that I need to weather-strip all my doors and windows just to be safe. Never know what Missouri's winter has planned for us.