Does Dan Zarrow use a pig spleen to predict winter weather?

Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow is a smart guy. He went to Cornell after all, studying atmospheric science. He will guide you through winter with all modern tools available.

But did you know some people forecast winter weather using a pig spleen?

I first heard of this lunacy years ago when leafing through a Farmer’s Almanac. The article told of people to this day taking the spleen from a pig slaughtered in fall or early winter and studying its geography to figure out what winter had in store.

I found this so funny I brought it up on-air and one thing led to another. We figured let’s try it. So Bill Doyle set out to secure a pig spleen. He found some farm in New Jersey where the guy was willing to sell Bill just the spleen of a pig.

The day he showed up at the farm the guy walked him over to a nasty vat of entrails and stuck his arm right into the slurping muck. Out came his hand with a hunk of meat he promptly handed to Bill. To this day Bill isn’t sure it really was a spleen. It could have been anything. We wouldn’t have known.

The funniest part of this story to me is at no point in this transaction, from the initial phone call to the brief time at the farm, did Bill ever once bother explaining his odd request. He easily could have said he was part of a radio show that wanted to have some fun and experiment with this weird thing we read in The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Instead he just must have looked like some total weirdo. I just likes me a pig spleen!

So how is it supposed to work? This link explains it. Cue the banjo music.

You’re supposed to look at the spleen and visually divide it into six equal sections. The first section is the month that lies ahead and starts with the end of the spleen that was closest to the pig’s head. The last section is the final month of the sixth month period. Wherever it thickens indicates a temperature change like a cold snap in winter. Where there’s a protrusion or bulge indicates stormy weather like heavy rain or snow.

And if you think this works I have a Driscoll Bridge I’d like to sell you.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.