Signs of wild winter already emerging in nature
At high elevations in Yosemite, the marmots already have submerged in hibernation. This is several weeks, if not a month, early.
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At midweek, the Monterey Aquarium sent me a note that pelagic red crabs from Baja California, which look like mini lobsters, washed up in large numbers on the shore of Monterey Bay. Off Baja, these are a favorite food of tuna, and many anglers call them “tuna snacks.”
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John Lindsey, the meteorologist from PG&E, sent a note that the tropical cyclone Oho near Hawaii is forecast to travel off the Pacific Coast, “an unusual path, indeed.” In addition, what has been called “the blob,” an anomalous mass of very warm water off the Pacific Coast that some said would block El Niño moisture, is gone.
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http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/Signs-of-wild-winter-already-emerging-in-nature-6563869.php
I was up in the Sierra in early September and was really surprised not to see or hear any marmots, despite copious scat. Seems like that was too early for them to be hibernating, but maybe they were. I did see a couple of pikas though, which always makes me happy...
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Batten down the hatches everybody........here comes El Nino!
And that would be great news for the West! And I'm looking forward to it to a winter that doesn't potentially involve clearing the driveway of this every week:
And yes, that is from one single storm. All 24 inches of it.
we have rain and 50 degrees. I hope that the drought areas are ready for el nino because its supposed to wollop you good. 
Take care out there no matter where you live. I am on your side.
As any Southerner knows, one of the best predictors of the winter is the woolly bear caterpillar, Pyrrharctia isabella, is the larval stage of the adult moth. The woolly blear is covered with soft reddish-orange fur. Sometimes, however, the fur has black bands on either end. From time to time, the woolly bear's fur is all black.
According my old granddaddy, the more black on the woolly bear, the harder the winter will be.
The woolly bears have started to appear here and they seem to be confused. I am seeing them with fur ranging from all reddish-orange to all black and everything in between.
Of course, there are those who claim the woolly bear's color has nothing to do with predicting the winter. Who you gonna believe: My old granddaddy, or, some PhD who lives in an ivory tower?
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella
http://www.almanac.com/content/predicting-winter-weather-woolly-bear-caterpillars
