While meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict a mild El Niño winter, one weather prognosticator strongly disagrees.Meet "O'Doul the Collie", a longtime Mount Baker resident ("O'Doul" and his owner "Tony" preferred aliases for the purposes of this post). In October 2008, Tony then marveled at the sizable tufts he was collecting as O'Doul shed his summer coat for the upcoming winter. Tony had not seen a collie -- a breed of which he has favored for years -- shed so much. Prepare for a "hard winter," Tony warned.
Naturally, I scoffed. While a well-trained dog, O'Doul didn't strike me as weather savvy. It's not like he interpreted Doppler radar reports between naps and walks.
Of course, O'Doul the collie enjoyed the last laugh. Tony recalls combing out enough collie hair to fill a large recycling bin... you know, the one used to store paper and plastic recyclables. December 2008 experienced two weeks of winter misery: record low temperatures and major snowstorms on December 18, 20, 21, and 24 with the pesky, non-follicle-related white flakes in amounts ranging from six to 24 inches. The city's impotent response -- particularly by the leadership of the much-reviled Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) -- guaranteed icy arterials with the consistency of Kent's ShoWare Center hockey rink... with ruts the size of Coke bottles.
Thus far, Tony has combed out enough collie hair to fill half a recycling bin. While Tony doesn't foresee snowfall matching 2008, this year's collection of collie hair disputes forecasts of the El Niño winter. Snowfall is a definite possibility.
What does this prediction mean? Outgoing Mayor McCheese and his posse of cronies had better pick up Costco volumes of salt. Even if collie is off, the salt will keep for the next big snow storm.
Stay tuned.
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