Paul Smokov who lives in a ranch in Steele, North Dakota, doesn't need radar or other high-tech equipment to forecast a major snowstorm on the prairie. He consults pig spleens."It looks like a normal year with no major storms," said the 84-year-old Smokov, peering at two of the brown, glistening, foot-long organs on his kitchen counter like a Gypsy gazing at a crystal ball. "That's what the spleens tell me."
If the spleen is wide where it attaches to the pig's stomach and then narrows, it means winter weather will come early with a mild spring, Smokov said. A narrow-to-wider spleen usually means harsh weather in the spring, he said.
The spleens obtained by Smokov this year are pretty uniform in thickness, which means no drastic changes.
"The spleens are 85 percent correct, according to my figures," he said. As for the weathermen, "Those guys aren't any better."
Source: SeattleTimes
Tags: Paul Smokov | Pig | Gut | Forecast | Weather
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