Wiregrass Seniors Magazine December 2017 DECEMBER ISSUE | Page 7

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How They Forecast a Cold Winter
One day in early September,
the chief
of a traditional Native
American
tribe was asked by his
tribal
elders if he, by the
reading
of signs from the
natural world
around the
Great Lakes,
could determine if this winter was going to be
a severe one.
In truth, neither himself, nor the elders, had
any idea about how to predict the coming
winter. However, the chief decided to take
a modern approach, and called the
National Weather Service in Gaylord,
Michigan.
“Yes, according to early models, it is going to
be a cold winter, although, it is really too early
to predict that with any real certainty,” the
meteorological officer told the chief.
Consequently, being the only information the
chief had to rely on, he went back to his tribe
and told the elders to collect plenty of
firewood.
A week or so later the chief called the Weather
Service and asked for an update. “Are you
still forecasting a cold winter?” he asked.
“Yes, very cold”, the weather officer told him.
As a result of this brief conversation the chief
went back to the tribe and told his people to
collect every bit of wood they could find.
A month later the chief called the National
Weather Service once more and asked about
the coming winter. ”Yes,” he was told, “it is
going to be one of the coldest winters ever.”
“How can you be so sure?” the chief asked.
The weatherman replied: “Because the Native
Americans of the Great Lakes are
collecting wood like crazy.”
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