Did the Farmer's Almanac predict the freeze?

My grandmother was a firm believer in planting by the moon - and her favorites source of weather-related gardening information was the Old Farmer's Almanac. There are two farmers almanac, by the way. The first is the Old Farmer's Almanac, which is the original, dating back to 1792, and 26 years older than The Farmers' Almanac.

Both the almanacs predicted a colder-than-normal winter. In fact, they say this will be the case for the next decade. They attribute the extended cold winters to a low-activity solar period. Both almanacs use solar activity, the position of the planets and tidal information as part of their weather predicting. Regardless of the formula, the almanac was accurate enough for my grandmother to place her faith in its gardening advice. She always kept it nearby during the planting season and followed it faithfully. Since she was one of the gardeners who could stick anything in the ground and it would grow, you won't hear me question their value.