Here's a release for ya

The Great.Lakes.Loons. put this out yesterday.

Good Weather Awaits Loons Season Opener

The months of April and May will be warmer and drier than normal in Mid Michigan. That’s according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and it comes as good news for fans of the Great Lakes Loons. Those spring months are typically unpredictable in Mid Michigan, and the latest news from the Almanac will make for very pleasant afternoons and evenings at Dow Diamond during the Loons’ inaugural 2007 season.

“Americans have trusted the Old Farmer’s Almanac for years to provide accurate predictions of weather patterns,” said Loons President and General Manager Paul Barbeau. “The Almanac’s projection of a warm and relatively rain-free April and May is good news to the Loons and the Mid Michigan community.”

Here is an artistic conception of what the Loons believe their Opening Day will be like:

Not really. It is just a rendering of a generic game at some point of the season at Dow Diamond.

Let me go check my copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac to see what weather in Appleton is...Oh, wait. That's right. I don't have one. There's still the internet.

I didn't pay for the super-duper detailed forecast, but here is what it says about April for the Upper Midwest Region...which includes the tropical paradises that are parts of North and South Dakota; International Falls and Duluth, Minnesota; and Marquette, Michigan:

Avg. Temperature: 41.5° (0.5° above avg.)
Precipitation: 1.5" (0.5" below avg.)
Apr. 1-5: Cold, snow showers Apr. 6-9: Snow, then sunny, cold
Apr. 10-14: Sunny, seasonable
Apr. 15-20: Showers, then sunny, very warm
Apr. 21-24: Seasonable, showers
Apr. 25-28: Sunny, warm
Apr. 29-30: T-storms, then cool

Average temperature of 41.5 degrees = 60 degrees in Appleton + 23 degrees in Sioux Falls, South Dakota divided by 2. Right?

How do they predict the weather?

We derive out weather forecasts from a secret formula that was devised by the founder of this Almanac, Robert B. Thomas, in 1792. Thomas believed that weather on Earth was influenced by sunspots, which are magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun.

Read more at the link. They have updated their process since the 18th century.