N.C.’s woolly worm predicts cold and snowy early winter

Winter has arrived, and North Carolina’s High Country region is expecting plenty of snow and cold temperatures for much of the month of January – a skier’s delight.

 

That’s the official weather forecast out of Banner Elk in Avery County issued by the champion Woolly Worm, the fuzzy little caterpillar that won the big race at this year’s Woolly Worm Festival held back in October. 

The woolly worm that climbs a 32-inch string the fastest rules – earning it the right to make the winter weather prediction.”

 

Woolly worms can’t talk, but their bodies have 13 segments or bands that are colored black or rusty brown. Each band represents one week of winter. A trained eye can “read” the bands and interpret them.

 

In general, black means cold and snowy and brown indicates milder temperatures and clear skies. There are gradations to factor in and some bands are a blend or have fleckings, offering further variation. 

The esteemed “woolly worm whisperer” of Avery County is 70-year-old Tommy Burleson, who was the 7-foot-2 center on the North Carolina State University men’s basketball team that won the NCAA championship in 1974. Burleson spent the last 28 years working with the Avery County government, retiring in August 2022 as director of planning and inspections.

 

Burleson has been associated with the festival for about 15 years now, and his interpretation for the winter of 2022-23 is: 

Weeks 1-4: Below average temperatures and snow.

Weeks 5-9: Average temperatures but not too snowy.

Weeks 10-11: Above average temperatures and clear.

Week 12: Below average temperatures and frost or light snow.

Week 13: Below average temperatures and snow. 

That computes to 11 out of 13 weeks of good to great skiing weather. 

The owner of the 2022 winning woolly worm is Emma Denton of Gastonia, a junior at Appalachian State University in Boone. Denton said she found her woolly worm near a portable toilet unit, so she named it “Porta Potty.” The victory netted Denton a $1,000 cash award. In all, more than 1,000 woolly worms competed this year. 

Burleson said woolly worm racing is both and art and a science. “What you want to do is get the worm warmed up in your hand just before the race. Keep it warm. Then when you put it on the string, the worm is active and its little feet are moving.” 

Roy Krege, one of the early promoters of the festival, added: “Worms have a natural defense mechanism. When they feel threatened, they ball up. So sometimes, if a person just picks up the worm out of its cage and tries to put it on the string, it’ll ball up and fall right off.”

 

“A lot of people will blow on the worm to get it started, but don’t blow too hard, or it’ll fall off the string,” Krege said. “People have even started bringing straws to puff their worms all the way to the top!” 

The woolly worm is the larva of the Isabella tiger moth. During autumn, woolly worms scurry about on the ground, in search of sheltered areas to hunker down for winter – under logs, boulders or structures (even portable toilets). 

In May, the insect will emerge from its cocoon, transformed into a colorful moth, somewhat yellowish, orange and tan with black accent markings.

 

Banner Elk is about 355 miles away from Morehead City, but Carteret County still falls under the same magical woolly worm spell…expect slightly milder weather here, however.