Postman delivers no snow verdict
But the Donegal postman, who uses nature to predict the weather, said the country should be bracing itself for winter storms.
The unusual forecaster was spot on when it came to predicting a white Christmas for the last two years, with his old-fashioned methods proving to be so accurate that he cost the bookmakers a fortune.
But the 63-year-old, who features in a TG4 documentary Fear na hAimsire, said yesterday it won’t be a third white Christmas in a row.
“I don’t think it’s on the cards. The chances are very slim. I’m quite happy to say that and I’m not going to change. I’m going to stick with what the old people taught me… A new moon will come in Christmas week but we will roughly keep the same kind of weather up until then.”
He said the lack of berries on the branches leads him to believe that freezing temperatures will stay away over the festive season.
The conditions on the Bluestack Mountains where he reads the weather are starkly different to last year.
“Last year, in the second week of November, the trees were laden with berries and holly. Nature looks after its own. The amount of berries on the trees was unbelievable. It was to feed the animals before the snow.
“This year the berries are very scarce on the branches and there has been no movement of the animals down the mountain.”
* Fear na hAimsire will be broadcast on TG4 on December 11 at 9.30pm.
