Ready for do-it-yourself weather predicting? Long before meteorologists had sophisticated technology to help them predict the weather, people made forecasts based on their observations of the sky, animals, and nature.
Many of the traditional sayings they used, called proverbs, are accurate. Try out some old-fashioned forecasting—that still works today!
The higher the clouds, the finer the weather.
If you spot wispy, thin clouds up where jet airplanes fly, expect a spell of pleasant weather.
Keep an eye, however, on the smaller puff clouds (cumulus), especially if it's in the morning or early afternoon. If the rounded tops of these clouds, which have flat bases, grow higher than the one cloud's width, then there's a chance of a thunderstorm forming.
Clear Moon, frost soon.
When the night sky is clear, Earth's surface cools rapidly—there is no cloud cover to keep the heat in. If the night is clear enough to see the Moon and the temperature drops enough, frost will form. Expect a chilly morning!
When clouds appear like towers, the Earth is refreshed by frequent showers.
When you spy large, white clouds that look like cauliflower or castles in the sky, there is probably lots of dynamic weather going on inside. Innocent clouds look like billowy cotton, not towers. If the clouds start to swell and take on a gray tint, they're probably turn into thunderstorms. Watch out!
Rainbow in the morning gives you fair warning.
A rainbow in the morning indicates that a shower is west of us and we will probably get it.

Ring around the moon? Rain real soon.
A ring around the moon usually indicates an advancing warm front, which means precipitation. Under those conditions, high, thin clouds get lower and thicker as they pass over the moon. Ice crystals are reflected by the moon's light, causing a halo to appear.
Rain foretold, long last. Short notice, soon will pass.
If you find yourself toting an umbrella around for days "just in case," rain will stick around for several hours when it finally comes. The gray overcast dominating the horizon means a large area is affected. Conversely, if you get caught in a surprise shower, it's likely to be short-lived.
Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.
A reddish sunset means that the air is dusty and dry. Since weather in North American latitudes usually moves from west to east, a red sky at sunset means dry weather—good for sailing—is moving east. Conversely, a reddish sunrise means that dry air from the west has already passed over us on their way easy, clearing the way for a storm to move in.
Observe the sky and see if these proverbs work for you!



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Comments
I love reading all the
I love reading all the different ways we can tell when the weather changes, the way the animals,birds and the way our body feels.
Has anyone noticed when the
Has anyone noticed when the water level in the toilet is high it will storm, when the water level is low or normal the weather is fair.I heard that somewhere.
Yes noticed the same
Yes noticed the same occurence in my toilet,allso have a seafarers barometer same concept. Pressure varience moves the water.
Fire ants will build up
Fire ants will build up around the hole when significant rains are coming.
When a cat washes behind it's
When a cat washes behind it's ears expect rain.
really??? these points are
really??? these points are all so good, but have they been verified. In california, the weather doesnt change within an hour.
A friend's grandmom used to
A friend's grandmom used to say if you can see enough sky to make a pair of britches (i.e., enough blue to equal the cloth needed to make pants), then it will not rain.
My Mother told me, "A January
My Mother told me, "A January fog will freeze a dog".
rocks are good weather
rocks are good weather predictors.
when rock dry,weather is fair,
when rock wet,it rained or it's raining,
when rock white,it snowed or snowing,
when rock dissapeares,too much snow.
you forgot, when rock
you forgot,
when rock spinning, tornado/hurricane
when rock shaking, earthquake
A lot of Boy Scout troops
A lot of Boy Scout troops have those. My troop rarely uses it though.
Is they any truth to it that
Is they any truth to it that when people, especially Children get out of control its do to barometric pressure? Just like they say a full more people in up in the ER.
There are some studies whose
There are some studies whose findings suggest that low barometric pressure can cause adults to be more impulsive and children to be more irritable/restless. Children with disorders such as autism seem to be more affected.
yes they do,hyper
yes they do,hyper sensitivity,i get more active when its rainy,i feel less pressure on myself,almost a natural high happens
I am wondering about
I am wondering about crickets. Do they kown how bad a winter we are getting. I like snow, but not a storm every week like a few years ago in massachusetts.
Many types of crickets
Many types of crickets overwinter as eggs, some as nymphs, and a few as adults. Although we could not find weather sayings that link crickets with winter, crickets are used to determine other weather factors. For example, if you find a cricket (a snowy tree cricket is best), count the number of cricket chirps in 14 seconds and add 40 — the resulting number is the approximate outside temperature in Fahrenheit. Also, weather lore says that if a cricket chirps unusually (or loudly), expect wet weather.
When the muskrats build their
When the muskrats build their huts close to shore the winter will be mild, the farther out the colder it will be
NC Coast. First time seeing
NC Coast. First time seeing a wooly worm here. Looks like 2/3 is orange the and and tail tip black. There are six ridges with a darker brown across the ridges.
In the foothills of NC -
In the foothills of NC - first wooly worm was all black, the others have been brown with black stripes and black at the end.
I'm a hairdresser, and when
I'm a hairdresser, and when we're going to have a cold winter, here in Oregon, I start noticing around September my clients will get lots of one inch, downy hair all over their scalp, it sticks up when I part it before cutting. I have noticed it this year on several people so we'll see if it holds true this year.
My mom and a friend at my
My mom and a friend at my office told me about persimmon seeds...you open the seed and the shape determines coming winter weather in your area...they are ALL spoons this year , which means lots of snow...a knife shape means very bitter cold, a fork shape means mild winter....My mom lives in Moore Co NC, my friend and I are In Wilkes Co NC....so looks like lots of snow in NC this winter!.....also there are TONS of acorns(in both counties and probably all in between).another indicator of a hard winter coming...they weren't many at all last year...
I also cut the seeds in
I also cut the seeds in several different persimmons and I also got ALL spoons.. and I have never heard about the acorns but geez if thats an indicator for a hard winter then we here in McKinney KY are gonna get a BAD one!!! There are acorns everywhere! We do need a good hard/cold winter after having little winter last year and such a blistering hot summer and mild fall! I love snow so I say bring it on!!
Squirrels are hiding the
Squirrels are hiding the Dogwood seeds here in Catawba Co, NC, they left no pecans or acorns.
i live ontop a
i live ontop a mountain,weather is so unpredictable do to west/s-west winds.we get weather here 360 degrees so any weather changes so fast.
i always look to the sky and
i always look to the sky and when i see a sundog it its gonna rain in 24 hours or so
Does anyone remember the one
Does anyone remember the one about the smoke following the side of the chimney to the ground? i cant remember if its 24 hours for the precipitation.
My Grandmother lived in Western PA, she could tell if it was going to rain by the moisture on the glass bottles in the refrigerator. Born in the 1890's, she lived by the signs.
I've also noticed the dogs will start smelling the air when we're going to get rain or snow. They tend to smell the air more the colder it gets.
When it rains or is about to
When it rains or is about to rain my ear or ears always get hot and red. Its so strange, and I dont know why it does it.
MY BROTHER PREDICTS THAT WHEN
MY BROTHER PREDICTS THAT WHEN THE CLOUDS GET DARK AND TOO MUCH HUM IT IND INDICATES TI IS GOING TO BE HEAVY RAIN.
funny sayings
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