O'Doul, NOAA forecast a rough winter

Want to scare the sweatpants off a local resident? Tell the Seattleite that weather forecasters are predicting a La Niña winter.

Want to confound readers of the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park (DDGP)? Tell them that Weather Prognosticator O'Doul the Collie and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are in agreement: This coming winter will be harsh and cold.

Wak the f***? NOAA and O'Doul reaching a meeting of the minds? Isn't this unification like the Damned Yankees and Boston Red Sox joining forces to defeat, say, the Taiwanese Little Leaguers? Batgirl and Catwoman putting aside their differences to trump Poison Ivy? Godzilla (ゴジラ), Mothra (モスラ) and Rodan (ラドン) uniting to crush King Ghidorah (キングギドラ), the three-headed monster? Not quite.

NOAA has predicted a La Niña winter, the weather phenomenon marked by the cooling of Pacific Ocean waters, Idaho-sized mountain snowpacks and precipitation. The DDGP checked in with O'Doul this week. O'Doul's spokesman, Mount Baker resident Tony, upon cue removed a tuft of dog hair from the collie's coat. "It's going to be rough winter," Tony said, "more than rain and cold weather."

O'Doul, Tony said, shed heavily two years ago, which served as a harbinger of the historic snowfall in December 2008.

Has O'Doul ever been wrong? "Never," Tony replied. "Not him or his two (collie) predecessors."

If the collie and NOAA are correct, you'd better begin preparing for a long, cold, lonely winter with a weather-appropriate cocktail... like hot buttered rum. You can purchase a plastic container of buttered rum mixture -- like you might grocery-store guacamole or salsa. Or you can take the extra five minutes to make your own concoction.

Hot Buttered Rum

• ¼ tablespoon of softened butter;
• 1 teaspoon of brown sugar;
• Vanilla extract;
• 2 oz. dark rum;
• Hot water;
• Spices -- ground nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice with proportions to your personal preference.

Put butter, brown sugar and spices in an Irish coffee glass or mug.

Muddle (grind) ingredients in coffee glass/mug.

Add hot water and rum.

Stir beverage with cinnamon stick.

Curse the collie and NOAA.