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It is vital for natural gas Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) to forecast their customers' natural gas demand accurately. A significant error on a single very cold day can cost the customers of the LDC millions of dollars. This paper looks at the financial implication of forecasting natural gas, the nature of natural gas forecasting, the factors that impact natural gas consumption, and describes a survey of mathematical techniques and practices used to model natural gas demand. Many of the techniques used in this paper currently are implemented in a software GasDay TM, which is currently used by 24 LDCs throughout the United States, forecasting about 20% of the total US residential, commercial, and industrial consumption. Results of GasDay's TM forecasting performance also is presented.