OH NO! Do You Know These Famous Creatures Make First Michigan Winter Prediction

If you have followed the story of Punxsutawney Phil, you will know exactly how this is going!

Before getting to Punxsutawney Phil, you must go through these creatures first.

If this insect shows up, there will be a winter that you will hate to see.

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What Are Woolly Bear Caterpillars?

Woolly bear caterpillars, also known as the woolly worms, will eventually turn into the Isabella tiger moth.

However, in the New England and the Midwest areas, people call them the woolly bears.

However, while they are not known by many, a lot of people use them to figure out how bad the winter will be.

The Farmer's Almanac says that,

'In terms of appearance, the caterpillar has 13 distinct segments of either rusty brown or black. Often, it is black on both ends with rust-colored segments in the middle, although it may sometimes be mostly black or mostly rust."

How Does Woolly Bear Caterpillars Predict The Weather?

The National Weather Service says that it all depends on their outside appearance.

"The longer the woolly bear's black bands, the longer, colder, snowier, and more severe the winter will be."

These creatures are used so often to predict how the winter will be that there is a whole festival dedicated to them.

In Vermilion, Ohio, the residents have held an annual "Woolly Bear Festival" since 1973.

The festival came to be because of Dick Goddard, a longtime Cleveland weatherman at WJW-TV.

NWS says that it is actually claimed that the festival is the largest one-day festival in all of Ohio.