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Prophet Frog: Soggy And Wet, Or Wet And Soggy?

February 1, 2011

Those eager for some happy news about this ugly winter can take heart: Snohomish Slew has predicted an early Spring.

Slew, a bullfrog, makes his annual “frogcast” at the annual GroundFrog Day ceremony in downtown Snohomish, Washington, at noon on the Saturday before Groundhog Day. He spends the rest of the year in a terrarium at the Just Frogs Amphibian Center in nearby Edmonds, visiting admirers and resting for his big moment.

Slew is one of many local animal weather shamans trotted out as alternatives to Punxsutawney Phil, on the premise that one Pennsylvania groundhog can’t possibly predict the weather for the entire country. We have a personal favorite in Nebraska’s Unadilla Bill (who didn’t begin prognosticating until after he was dead) but Snohomish Slew has unique merits as well. For one, he’s the only cold-blooded forecaster that we know of, which gives him a personal stake in getting it right.

One caution: Slew’s prediction applies only to the Pacific Northwest, so the rest of the country should not get overly excited.

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