What Squirrel Nests Say About Missouri’s Coming Winter

There are many very scientific ways to predict how harsh or not winter will be. Many in my Missouri family are farmers and they will tell you that if you'd like to know how nasty the winter might be, check the squirrel nests.

As I was looking up in the trees near our Missouri home, I noticed something interesting about the location of the squirrel nests

It's not easy to see them, but the many squirrels in our neighborhood have been very active gathering sticks and leaves and I've seen two distinct things happening over the past 30 days:

1. They're fortifying their nests with extra sticks and leaves more than usual
2. The nests are perhaps a little higher in the trees than they were last year

What does a Missouri squirrel nest tell you about the upcoming winter?

I'm not the only one who believes this. Even the Old Farmer's Almanac says that when squirrels build their nests higher in the trees, that means they're preparing for a harsher winter than normal. I've heard that squirrels prefer fortified nests like a hollow space in a tree (or sometimes in your attic if you're not careful) over a leaf and stick nest. When that's not available, they'll make the tree nest extra robust. The fact that I'm seeing that in our part of Missouri may not be a great sign if you dislike using your shovel and dealing with bitter cold.

All that being said, November has been much warmer than normal and I still don't see the permanent pattern change when cold weather will settle in to stay. The reality I'm seeing in those warm weather forecasts does not agree with what I see the squirrels preparing for. Be wrong, squirrels, be wrong.