I have always been fascinated by the weather, though never enough to do anything about it (like learn to be the weather girl).
Humanity has always been interested in the weather because it impacts us tremendously. Not enough rain, we have drought and no food. Too much rain and we drown. It's kind of important.
Here are some ways to forecast the weather that you won't necessarily hear about from your local weather person.
1. The number of fogs in August indicate the number of snows you will have in the next winter.
2. Woolly bear caterpillars indicate the severity of winter, too. If it has a heavy coat, is fat and furry, and has a small brown band in the middle (as opposed to a wide one), look out. Better put snow tires on the car!
3. If you see squirrels gathering lots of nuts, expect a bad winter.
4. If the oak trees have a lot of acorns, expect a bad winter.
5. If you see spiders spinning huge webs or crawling into your house, expect a bad winter.
6. If you eat a persimmon (they're not good until the first frost), cut open the seed. If it's shaped like a knife, it will be bitter cold. If it is shaped like a fork, expect mild weather. If it looks like a spoon, there will be deep snow.
7. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.
8. Whatever the weather us on St. Swithin's Day (July 15), that weather will continue for forty days.
9. Take the breastbone of a goose and let it dry. As it dries it will change color. If the dried bone is white, expect a mild winter. If the tips turn purple, expect a cold spring. If the bone turns black, blue, or purple, expect a cold winter.
10. A ring around the moon is a sure sign of rain.
11. If it smells like rain, the barometric pressure is probably falling. Grab your umbrella!
12. Bees will not swarm before a storm.
13. When the sun sets bright and clear, an easterly wind you need not fear.
Some extras:
Count the chirps of a cricket in 14 seconds, add 40, and you will have the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
When birds like swallows or rooks hang around, fly up and down or low, expect rain and/or wind.
If smoke from chimneys does not go straight up in calm weather, expect an unfavorable change in the weather.
Thursday
Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list
here. I've
been playing for a while and this is my 304th time to do a list of 13 on a
Thursday
I wonder how many are actually true! I always heard 'if you don't like the weather wait a minute and it will change' or something like that.
ReplyDeletethe crickets I believe.
ReplyDeleteSo can I count on you to keep track of the foggy days? Then you can remind us when winter comes along.
ReplyDeleteHere's another from my part of my world:
ReplyDelete"If the oak before the ash, then we'll only have a splash, if the ash before the oak, then we'll surely have a soak."
This year, it worked! The oak showed its leaves first, and we are having a long, hot summer.
I have heard #1 around here in KY quite a lot.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, keeping track of everything could be a full time job. hehe And where in the world would I find the breastbone of a goose?
ReplyDeleteSome interesting weather lore. I couldn't help snickering over the first one. I do not recall any fog last August, and yet we had one of the longest, coldest and snowiest winteres on record. Numbers two through five seemed pretty accurate, though. Sorry I've missed the last couple Thursdays--have just been swamped!
ReplyDelete