New Missouri Squirrel Winter Prediction – What Do Nests Tell Us?

I fully realize that with modern technology being what it is, this will seem archaic to some. But, I trust the squirrels in Missouri as much as I do the meteorologists (no offense intended). Most of their nests are now built in the trees, so what does that tell us we should expect this winter?

If you're new to this Missouri squirrel winter prediction method, I'm not alone in my theories. Farmer's Almanac also lists squirrel nests as one of their 12 main predictors for a potentially bad winter.

I won't assume you know about this, so here's how you can know how bad a Missouri winter will be from a squirrel's perspective. The higher they build their nests in the trees, the more snow that you can expect to see on the Missouri ground. 

Here's a picture of a squirrel nest down the street from our Missouri home. If this squirrel is correct, you might want to find your snow shovel and make sure it's in good working order soon.

If I'm remembering correctly (doubtful), this squirrel family has moved their previous nest up from where it was last winter which was very mild by normal Missouri standards. That translates into the squirrels thinking the snow will be deeper than it was last year.

The irony of me sharing squirrel weather predictions is my wife is a meteorologist. Even more ironic? She was kind enough to take the squirrel nest picture for me.