Wind Dogs
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Sea-captains and the like have devised many ways to predict changing atmospheric conditions. Hi. I'm Dave Thurlow, and this is the Weather Notebook. Today, commentator Chuck Krueger, who lives on Cape Clear Island in Ireland, shares a new expression and weather observation from a local sea captain.

Between the port village of Baltimore on the southwest coast of County Cork and Cape Clear, Ireland's southernmost island, some eight miles out to sea, lies an often treacherous stretch known as Roaring Water Bay.

Looking at this expanse from high up in the wheelhouse of the local ferry, I comment to the captain on how much rougher the bay is this afternoon from what it had been in the a.m. He laughs, notes that the tops of waves don't lift into the air like this until the wind goes over 40 miles an hour, and then, abruptly, asks if I'd seen that wind dog on the morning run out', for he's never known a morning wind dog to fail in warning of significantly increased wind for the afternoon.

I don't know what to say. I've never even heard of a wind dog. Finally I share my innocence. He clarifies the matter. "Did ye spot that piece of rainbow off to the northwest this morning? Just a small foot of a rainbow, no rainbow proper?"

"Yes," I answer.

"Well, whenever ye see one of those, around here called a wind dog, ye know the wind velocity's going to pick up later in the day. It's never failed me in my twenty plus years of skippering this ferry."

As he speaks, despite miles of white horses ahead of us, and significant swell, I see a cat's-paw turn the heaving sea dark green and wonder somewhat playfully if it's fleeing a wind dog.

Thanks today to commentator Chuck Krueger who lives in Ireland. The Weather Notebook is underwritten by the National Science Foundation and Subaru of America.