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Woolly bear caterpillars: Can they predict winter weather?
CRAWLING ON YOUR FRONT OR BACK PORCH. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE WOOLY BEAR CATERPILLAR. DEFINITELY HAVE SEEN THEM. RUMOR HAS IT THAT THESE CATERPILLARS MAY HAVE SOMETHING UP THEIR SLEEVES IN TERMS OF FORECASTING WINTER WEATHER. FOR MORE ON THAT, LET’S TURN OVER NOW TO STORM TEAM METEOROLOGIST RYAN ARGENT, WHO HAS THE TRUTH ABOUT THESE CATERPILLARS? RYAN, IS IT TRUE? YEAH. SO SO LET’S LET’S GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF SOME CONTEXT ON THE SITUATION. SO WE’VE GOTTEN SO MANY PEOPLE REACHING OUT TO US THROUGH EMAIL, THROUGH FACEBOOK SAYING, HEY, YOU SEE THE WOOLY BEARS, IT’S ALL BLACK. OR IT’S LIKE IT’S SOME BROWN, SOME BLACK, RIGHT? LIKE, HOW’S THE WINTER GOING TO BE, RYAN? WELL, LET’S LET’S TAKE A STEP BACK. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE WOOLY BEAR FOLKLORE TO BEGIN WITH. SO IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, LET’S CHAT ABOUT IT HERE. SO THESE THIS CUTE LITTLE GUY THAT YOU’VE PROBABLY BEEN SEEING ON YOUR FRONT PORCH OR BACK PORCH, LIKE THOSE ME AND MICHAEL WERE SAYING THIS. YOU CAN SEE THE FUZZ ON IT. YOU CAN SEE THERE’S SOME BLACK AND THERE’S SOME BROWN ON IT. BUT IF THERE’S MORE BLACK THAN BROWN, RUMOR HAS IT THAT MEANS IT’S GOING TO BE A HARSHER WINTER. NOW STEP ON THIS SIDE OF THE SCREEN. IF THERE’S MORE BROWN THAN BLACK, THAT MEANS THAT THERE’S GOING TO BE A MILDER WINTER. OKAY, SO KEEP THAT IN MIND. WE DID GET SOME PICTURES FROM SOME FOLKS. WE DID. WE DID GET SOME PICTURES FROM JAMIE OUT OF WRIGHTSVILLE ISLAND FROM MOUNT GRETNA. MELISSA FROM COLUMBIA GOT SOME PICTURES FROM YOU GUYS. SO THANK YOU FOR SUBMITTING THOSE. BUT YOU CAN SEE IT’S A VARIATION OF THE FUR COLOR. SO IT’S NOT REALLY CONSISTENT. SO HERE’S IF YOU WANT A MORE OF LIKE AN EXPLAINER GRAPHIC. SO WE PUT THIS TOGETHER FOR YOU. SO AGAIN THE AMOUNT OF BLACK IN AUTUMN CORRELATES WITH THE SEVERITY OF THE UPCOMING WINTER. THAT’S THE FOLKLORE. IF THERE’S MORE BLACK LONGER, COLDER, SNOWY WINTER, IF YOU SEE MORE BROWN, THEN IT’S GOING TO BE A MILDER WINTER. AND ALSO THERE’S 13 SEGMENTS ON ITS BODY WHICH CORRESPOND TO THE 13 WEEKS OF WINTER. BUT THAT’S WHAT THE FOLKLORE SAYS. NOW HERE, DO GIVE ME A LITTLE DRUM ROLL HERE. WHAT IS IT? IS IT TRUE OR IS IT FALSE? IT IS. FALSE. GUYS. AND NO, THIS CATERPILLAR CANNOT FORECAST THE UPCOMING. I LOVE THAT GUY. BY THE WAY GUYS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. SO NO THIS CATERPILLAR GUYS THIS DOES NOT. THIS LITTLE GUY IS AS CUTE AS HE IS. HE CAN’T FORECAST THE WEATHER. THE THE WOOLY BEAR’S COLORING IS ALL BASED ON ITS FEEDING HABITS, ITS AGE, THE SPECIES, AND THE WIDTH OF THE BANDING INDICATES THE CURRENT OR THE PAST GROWING SEASON OF WHEN IT WAS, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS, YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH LIKE EVENTUALLY TURNING INTO A I THINK IT’S A MOTH. I THINK IT IS OR A BUTTERFLY LATER AS IT, AS IT COMES UP. BUT AGAIN, IF YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN HEARING ALL THE FOLKLORE AND THE AND THE RUMORS ABOUT THIS CATERPILLAR, NOPE, IT DOES NOT. IT DOES NOT FORECAST THE WEATHER. NOW ENJOY THE FOLKLORE. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE FORECASTING, AS WE LIKE TO SAY
Woolly bear caterpillars: Can they predict winter weather?
Updated: 9:13 PM PST Nov 22, 2025
Woolly bear caterpillars, often seen crawling on porches, are rumored to have something up their sleeves in terms of forecasting winter weather.Meteorologist Ryan Argenti from Hearst sister station WGAL reveals the truth about these caterpillars.Woolly bear caterpillar folkloreThese caterpillars are hairy creatures featuring brown and black colors. Folklore says if these caterpillars have more black than brown color, you can expect harsh winter conditions. If there is more brown than black colors, you can expect a mild winter.The 13 segments on its body correspond to the 13 weeks of winter.Truth behind the folkloreThe woolly bear caterpillar cannot forecast the upcoming winter conditionsThe coloring on the caterpillar is based on feeding habits, age, and speciesThe width of the banding indicates the current or past growing season
Woolly bear caterpillars, often seen crawling on porches, are rumored to have something up their sleeves in terms of forecasting winter weather.
Meteorologist Ryan Argenti from Hearst sister station WGAL reveals the truth about these caterpillars.
Woolly bear caterpillar folklore
These caterpillars are hairy creatures featuring brown and black colors.
Folklore says if these caterpillars have more black than brown color, you can expect harsh winter conditions.
If there is more brown than black colors, you can expect a mild winter.
The 13 segments on its body correspond to the 13 weeks of winter.
Truth behind the folklore
- The woolly bear caterpillar cannot forecast the upcoming winter conditions
- The coloring on the caterpillar is based on feeding habits, age, and species
- The width of the banding indicates the current or past growing season
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