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EmailReady 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!
Comments
MY BROTHER PREDICTS THAT WHEN
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By michelwarner
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
When it rains or is about to
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By Red Ears
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.
Does anyone remember the one
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By Moltroub
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.
i always look to the sky and
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By old skool
i always look to the sky and when i see a sundog it its gonna rain in 24 hours or so
i live ontop a
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By gabriel from ct.
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.
My mom and a friend at my
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By adrianna collins
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...
Squirrels are hiding the
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By Moltroub
Squirrels are hiding the Dogwood seeds here in Catawba Co, NC, they left no pecans or acorns.
I also cut the seeds in
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By KY Weather
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!!
I'm a hairdresser, and when
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By Cherri
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.
NC Coast. First time seeing
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By TMcMurtrey
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 -
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By Moltroub
In the foothills of NC - first wooly worm was all black, the others have been brown with black stripes and black at the end.
When the muskrats build their
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By KarenAnonymous
When the muskrats build their huts close to shore the winter will be mild, the farther out the colder it will be
I am wondering about
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By Azziey57
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
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By Almanac Staff
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.
Is they any truth to it that
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By Bunny4363
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.
yes they do,hyper
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By gabriel from ct.
yes they do,hyper sensitivity,i get more active when its rainy,i feel less pressure on myself,almost a natural high happens
There are some studies whose
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By Almanac Staff
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.
rocks are good weather
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By rock 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.
I have one. But it's not a
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By Maggie Crooks on May 30
I have one. But it's not a predictor; it's an indicator. lol
A lot of Boy Scout troops
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By Farmerboy
A lot of Boy Scout troops have those. My troop rarely uses it though.
you forgot, when rock
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By Nony
you forgot,
when rock spinning, tornado/hurricane
when rock shaking, earthquake
My Mother told me, "A January
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By sherry yerxa
My Mother told me, "A January fog will freeze a dog".
A friend's grandmom used to
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By April Hansen
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.
When a cat washes behind it's
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By Bellamina
When a cat washes behind it's ears expect rain.
really??? these points are
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By grandmas girl
really??? these points are all so good, but have they been verified. In california, the weather doesnt change within an hour.
Fire ants will build up
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By C. Lee
Fire ants will build up around the hole when significant rains are coming.
Has anyone noticed when the
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By grandmother of six
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
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By Ryan Bittles
Yes noticed the same occurence in my toilet,allso have a seafarers barometer same concept. Pressure varience moves the water.
I love reading all the
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By grandmother of six
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.
When the humidity and
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By steve40004
When the humidity and barometric pressure changes, I feel it in all my joints.
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