Question
I have seen many houseflies lately. There are more than usual, they are everywhere, and they bite. Does this mean we have a rough winter ahead? We’ve also heard an old tale that when flies bite, rain is coming.
Answer
The abundance of houseflies doesn’t necessarily foretell a rough winter, but you are correct in your recollection of a biting fly predicting rain. Here are some other weather proverbs we found:
* If flies come in great swarms, rain follows soon.
* When eager bites the thirsty flea (or fly), clouds of rain you’re sure to see.
Curiously, there is some scientific basis for this. Bugs get hungrier when the humidity increases, and humidity is often a precursor to rain.
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