Madame Hooky's Crystal Ball

Our own Madame Hooky divines whether it's worth calling in sick Friday and heading for the slopes. She'll conjure your excuse and tell you where to go.

I woke up yesterday just happy to have a house--at 4am the wind shook it so hard I thought I heard some shingles fall off. Earlier in the day, I sensed that Crystal or Alpental would be the front-runners for Friday's work aversion excursion, but with hurricane-gale force winds predicted for the coastline and moving inward today and Friday morning, Crystal quickly faded from the snowball (upper lifts are already closed due to wind today). From yesterday to this morning, Stevens Pass shot up in its base to 68", outreaching both Crystal and Snoqualmie's growing base snow levels. Their webcam shows no flying monkeys, so Stevens it is.

Your excuse for not showing up at work tomorrow should you choose to brave the bluster? Use the force, folks: downed trees, power outages, missing roofs. Take your pick, the insane wind descending on us today is mother nature's gift to you. If you're feeling punchy, bring a 'chute and this could be you. Personally, I'd stay off the ridge lines.