ROUGH: There are weather forecasts, caterpillars with forecasting colors and lots of other ways folks predict what kind of weather the coming winter will bring.

Farmers’ Almanac offers a list of ways to tell a hard winter is coming. The first is thicker-than-normal onion skins or corn husks. Store-bought doesn’t count, as they might be grown elsewhere.

Woodpeckers sharing a tree is another sign, as is the early arrival of the snowy owl, the early departure of geese and ducks, and the early migration of monarch butterflies.

Some other members of the animal kingdom can offer clues, too. Thick hair on the nape of a cow’s neck is a sign, the Almanac says. Thick tails with bright bands on raccoons can be taken as a sign, along with extra hard work of mice chewing to get inside homes.

Heavy and thick fog in August is a sign of a hard winter, as are larger-than-usual spider webs and spiders entering homes in greater numbers.

Yikes. Lots of reasons here to hope the winter is mild. Although one of the Era family has a large spider web, with a large spider living there, in a door of her home. We call the spider Charlotte, after the book, of course, and keep waiting for it to write to her that she’s terrific, radiant or humble.

The signs continue, with pigs gathering sticks, ants marching in straight lines rather than meandering, and hornet nests built higher than normal — “See how high the hornet’s nest, ‘twill tell how high the snow will rest.”

Frequent halos or rings around the moon and sun forecast numerous snowfalls, too.

Let’s hope these signs aren’t prevalent around these parts.