LEWISTON (AP) – Keep your mittens and hat handy and get ready for a wintry ride on the “polar coaster.”

Warning that the coming winter will bring unusually sharp fluctuations in temperature, the Farmers’ Almanac suggests that readers “may be reminded of riding a roller, or in this case, polar’ coaster.”

“Mother Nature seems to be in the mood for some amusement this winter season,” the almanac said in its 2006 edition, just off the presses.

The coldest weather will be in the Northeast, which also will see plenty of snow, the almanac said. It predicts cold weather for the South and Mid-Atlantic regions and snowy but mild conditions in the Great Lakes and Midwest.

Parts of the Rockies and the Great Plains may see drier-than-normal weather, adding to an ongoing drought, the forecast said. Wetter-than-normal weather is predicted for parts of the Pacific Northwest and lower Texas.

The 189-year-old publication claims 80 percent to 85 percent accuracy for the forecasts by its reclusive prognosticator, Caleb Weatherbee.

Weatherbee prepares the forecasts two years in advance using a secret formula based on sunspots, the position of the planets and the tidal action of the moon. That means he’s getting set to work on the 2008 forecast, said Editor Peter Geiger.

While the National Weather Service questions the accuracy of long-range forecasts, almanac officials say Weatherbee’s stack up well against those of traditional meteorologists.

Chris Vaccaro, a weather service spokesman in Silver Spring, Md., wouldn’t comment on the almanac’s predictions without knowing “the methodology or algorithms” used to produce them. But he said any forecast more than a week in advance is subject to change.

The almanac, not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer’s Almanac 24 years its senior, claims a circulation of nearly 5 million. Most are sold to banks, insurance companies, oil dealers and other businesses that give them away as a goodwill promotion. Other versions are sold by retailers in the United States and Canada.

This year’s almanac contains the usual mix of recipes, anecdotes, corny jokes and quizzes. Helpful hints include how to remove tar from bare feet (use a cotton ball dipped in mineral water), how to keep mice away (place steel wool around pipes), and how to make fluffy scrambled eggs (use water instead of milk).

“In today’s busy world, people want an escape,” said Sondra Duncan, managing editor. “They look to the almanac to connect to the simple pleasures.”

Stories in the almanac’s 204-page U.S. retail version cover a range of subjects, from spiders to tornadoes to the legacy of Virginia’s Carter family, whose Appalachian mountain tunes became part of the foundation of country music.

Pumpkins get plenty of ink this year, first in a series of recipes that include pumpkin pie, pumpkin gratin, pumpkin dip and pumpkin pancakes.

But readers will also discover the giant gourds aren’t just for eating or making jack-o’-lanterns. An article details how a hollowed-out pumpkin can be used as a boat, as is done each year at the Windsor-West Hants Pumpkin Festival and Regatta in Nova Scotia.

Potential participants beware: “Your pumpkin, or personal vegetable craft (PVC) as they are known, can rarely be used twice due to structural ravages,” the almanac says.

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On the Net:

Farmers’ Almanac http://www.farmersalmanac.com

AP-ES-08-28-05 1237EDT

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