2022 Pig Spleen Prognostication

By Jeff Woodward PSP

Forecast again this year was sourced from a single spleen from a happy free-range hog obtained from Jaime and Clint Cobler, raised near Gull Lake Saskatchewan (Southwest Saskatchewan). Several Spleens were examined, and this one was by far the most telling.

On December 20, 2021, the Prognostication was completed at my brother's house. No entertainment was present due to the Covid restrictions. But to ensure accuracy, some alcohol -namely, aquavit was enjoyed in the traditional Scandinavian fashion.

For a refresher course, in order to make a prediction, the spleen is divided into six equal parts, representing the months of the year from January through June. According to the tradition, you can't do a forecast outside of this timeframe, or it violates the rules. Violating Viking tradition risks not getting into Valhalla, so the charlatans that might be pretending to make similar predictions might be careful.

There is fat on the spleen, that when appropriately interpreted, will tell you the temperature and weather expectations for the upcoming year. Any abnormalities in the spleen, like bumps or scars, signify cold weather or a significant weather event at that time.

Last year the spleen had very odd characteristics , and we indeed had an odd year with all the shenanigans in the USA with Donald Trump at the start of the year and with Covid in general. This year's spleen is rather unremarkable, meaning that we will see a gradual return to a more normal lifestyle as we get past or we get used to all the Covid 19 issues.

Based on the fat on this spleen, the 2022 winter and spring will be colder than what we have been used to, and we will have more precipitation than normal.

One must keep in mind that this is a climate change pig, so even though the temperatures show colder weather than normal, the old-timers will say that this is nothing compared to what we used to experience. It will start out with below normal temperature in January but warm up significantly just before the middle of the month. After that, it will gradually get colder and generally remain colder until the end of April. May and June will be about normal but have little to no precipitation. Even though it will be colder than normal temperatures will be turbulent with drastic changes from warm periods bracketed by being very cold and with wind.

January/February

January will start off colder than usual for about the first ten days, as the temperatures remain very cold until about January 12. After this, a significant warming trend will last for about a week, and then temperatures will gradually decrease again. Temperatures will drop each day until the end of the month, when it will warm up slightly and stay warm for a few days. Abnormally cold temperatures on January 22 can be expected.

The cooling trend will be accompanied by light snow and add more significant snowfall on January 26. Temps will remain cold toward the end of January and into February.

Temperatures into February will gradually improve over the month. Expect a warming trend on February 5 and 9, where snow, rain is again a possibility. There will be some snow again around February 20, which could become a blizzard and again at the very end of the month and into the start of March. Expect cold winds with the cold weather.

March/April

March will start off with snow at the start of the month and then again mid-month. There will be one or two very warm days around March 12 that will be followed by some snow in the next few days. In general, temperatures will gradually improve throughout the month, but it will be cold to colder than normal.

April will see continued improvement with temperatures remaining below normal but not as significant as in previous months. Expect a snow event again near April 7. April will have a tendency towards average to above-average temperatures until the very end of the month, when it will cool off significantly around April 27. The spleen shows one significant snow and rain event around April 21.

May/June

At the end of April, temperatures will very rapidly change to mild and more normal. There are rain events at the start of May around May 2 and again around the 22nd but not much following this, until the very end of June. June will be a normal month temperature-wise but dry until the end of the month.

"I used to cough to cover up the sound of a fart, but now I fart to cover up the sound of a cough.”

Photo Gull Lake Advance archives

Jeff Woodward bites the spleen of a pig as part of his yearly weather forecast in 2013.