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December 3, 2005Birds, caterpillars flub the forecastBut the orchard knew it was going to snowTRAVERSE CITY - Leelanau County farmer Rex Dobson said the old apple trees on his land are among the area's most astute weather forecasters."The old snarly trees - the ones my great-grandfather planted in 1880 - I've still got a few of those, and they bear pretty good when we're going to have a rough winter," Dobson said. "They really beared heavy this year." That folklore may well hold true. Kevin Sullivan, National Weather Service meteorologist, said this is going to be a harsh winter, at least in terms of snowfall. The latest storm dumped 18 inches in Suttons Bay by Friday morning, Sullivan said. Students throughout the region started the weekend early, with Traverse City Area Public Schools and most other districts canceling classes and rapidly burning up bad-weather days built into their calendars. But Jacob Cabinaw, a second-grader at Grand Traverse Academy, wasn't worrying much about making up snow days while he built a fort of Lincoln Logs with friends at the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. Cabinaw was one of about 20 area youngsters Friday afternoon taking part in the YMCA's snow day program. "Every snow day we get to see each other," he said about the friends he's made there. "We have way more fun here than when we're at school." More lake-effect snow was expected through the day today, tapering off into Sunday, Sullivan said. On the whole, the area recorded more snow than usual through the month of November. Gaylord and Houghton Lake were both 6 inches above average last month. Traverse City, which normally sees about 9 inches of snow in November, recorded more than 17 inches this year, Sullivan said. The average December snowfall in Traverse City is 24.1 inches. "We're well on our way toward that mark, especially with (Friday's) snowfall," Sullivan said. If you don't take his word for it, you can always rely on lore and superstition. Fruit on old trees; the bands on woolly bear caterpillars; the blooms on autumn flowers - all are said to be indicators of weather to come. Here's a look at several bits of winter weather-predicting lore and what some local experts have to say: - Early bird migration is a sign of a tough winter ahead. - If ant hills are high in July, winter will be snowy. - Flowers blooming in late autumn signify a bad winter ahead. - When the leaves fall early, winter will be mild. - The narrower the middle brown band of a woolly bear, the harsher the upcoming winter. Don't tell that to Dobson, who, at 81, isn't as old as his apple trees.
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