Most people can sense a storm coming their way without ever tuning into the local weather station. The many clues that give away Nature's plans have inspired bits of lore throughout the ages -- and are still used today to define the meanings of atmospheric changes and how they affect us.
When a weather change is on the horizon, most folks have their own little ways of being able to tell what’s on the way by taking in the signals of nature. Often, these signs are interpreted on the subconscious level, while others are much less subtle, and people tune into those tidbits of information in order to prepare for whatever Mother Nature has planned for them. There is, after all, something to be said for the philosophy which dictates, "If you want to know the weather, just look out the window".
Moisture in the Air
Fog and Its Indicators
Typically speaking, there are two ways in which fog is formed. The more commonly known reason that these smoky blankets drape over our environment is that warm, moist air moves into the area over a cold surface. This type of fog is an indication of a looming rainstorm, and often occurs during winter months.
The fogs of summer, however, are formed a bit differently. When the dew point reaches 100%, fog rolls in, but indicates that clear weather is on the way. Strange as it may sound, this type of fog only develops on clear summer nights. If it were cloudy, the fog would be unable to form, since clouds hold the heat within the lower portion of the atmosphere – much in the same way that a blanket holds body heat and allows the skin to stay warm. Under these conditions, cold air has no way of entering, and fog is out of the question. One of the common old sayings – or pieces of lore – is:
"A summer fog for fair, a winter fog for rain; a fact most everywhere, in valley or on plain."
The Signs of Rain
There are a number of ways to tell when rain is approaching. Many people fall back on the old "turning leaves" trick to gauge an impending rainstorm. There’s solid evidence to support the theory that this implies rain, since some trees – specifically oak and maple – actually curl or appear to turn over when there’s a high level of humidity in the air, or when the wind is gusting. Since these two conditions tend to precede rain, then watching the leaves on the trees definitely has some merit, as stated in this bit of lore:
"When leaves turn their back, ‘tis a sign it’s going to rain."
You may not realize it, but rainbows are also indications of a brewing storm. Most commonly associated with a rain shower that occurs during a brief burst of sunshine, this is only true if the rainbow is in the eastern portion of the sky. If it appears in the west, then it signifies a looming storm. This is due to the fact that nearly all storms come out of the west, and when the rays of the sun’s light refracts off of those storm clouds, then a rainbow is formed before the rain begins to fall – therefore, a storm is on the way.
Since rainbows only occur in the west during the morning, and in the east during the evening, one of the common pieces of lore involving the significance of rainbows and their signal of rain is:
"Rainbow in the morning, shepherds take warning; rainbow at night, shepherd’s delight."
The halo that one often sees surrounding the moon is seen as quite beautiful by most, and has inspired poets to pen a number of devotions to this lantern of the night. In reality, this halo – or glow around the moon which extends out from its rim – is caused by refracted light as it passes through ice crystals that are intrinsic to certain types of high-level clouds. While the clouds, themselves, don’t offer any precipitation, they often foretell an advancing low pressure system, which tends to bring undesirable weather conditions. Out of this came the lore which states:
"If a circle forms ‘round the moon,‘twill rain soon."
Ask any woman, and she’ll tell you that humidity is hair’s worst enemy. If she attempts to do something special with her hair on a hot, muggy day – such as curl it, if it’s straight – then she’ll end up with nothing more than a drooping mess in very short order. If, on the other hand, she has curly hair, then she’ll be left with a lot of frizzy curls that make her look like Orphan Annie on a bad day. Why? Simply because human hair expands as the humidity rises, which directly affects the manageability of the hair. Of course, when the humidity climbs, this indicates impending rain, so having a bad hair day during the summer months often means that a storm is brewing, such as is suggested in this saying:
"I know ladies by the score, whose hair foretells the storm; long before it begins to pour, their curls take a drooping form."
Since dust particles, ice crystals or some other form of small airborne element is needed in order for raindrops to form, the more of these elements there are in the air, the more likely it is that a rain storm will develop. This is due to the fact that without the presence of these tiny particles, the rain has nothing to encompass in order to form raindrops. When the conditions are right and moonlight passes through these moisture-soaked particles, then it appears to take on a reddish tone. When these are not present, and the sky is clear, then the moon is white in appearance. This bit of lore reflects those conditions:
"Pale moon rains; red moon blows; white moon neither rains nor snows."
If you happen to be one of those folks who take notice of a kind of tangy scent to the air just before a rain storm, what you actually smell is the ozone in the atmosphere. Due to the high voltage that exists within thunder clouds (even if thunder doesn’t appear to be present), a downdraft is created, which pushes the ozone toward the ground, causing the smell of what we translate as impending rain. Although some people are unable to perceive this particular scent, most folks find it to be a fairly obvious fragrance.
A Bit about Air Pressure
One of the ways in which meteorologists are able to foretell the weather is by watching the air pressure. Since this, coupled with wind, is a critical element in determining what the weather will be like on a given day (or night), the ability to forecast weather conditions is directly impacted by the combination of these two elements working together to form a specific weather pattern.
Fishermen and the Weather
Fishermen always keep an eye on the weather, in order to avoid mishaps – and also to determine when the fishing might be particularly good on a given day. For many generations, those who harvest their bounties from the sea have relied on certain signs to signify the conditions that can be expected, and things are no different today. While we now have sophisticated weather tracking equipment that will do the work for us, some folks continue to rely on the old standards which are expressed through folklore. Some examples of this would be:
"When the wind is in the north, the skillful fisher goes not forth; when the wind is in the east, ‘tis good for neither man nor beast; when the wind is in the south, it blows the flies in the fish’s mouth; but when the wind is in the west, there it is the very best."
"Fish bite least with wind in the east."
Barometric Pressure
Barometers are used to determine the pressure in the atmosphere, so that we’ll know what type of weather to expect. Early barometers were referred to as "weather glasses" and, when they fell, this would indicate that a storm was approaching.
Sometimes, a low pressure system is the result of a backing wind, which is the term that’s used for winds which begin in the west and move in a counterclockwise direction, to inevitably result in a southeasterly wind. These types of winds indicate that a low pressure cell is moving in, foretelling a storm. This old adage expresses it quite well:
"When the wind backs and the weather glass falls, prepare yourself for gales and squalls."
High air pressure, on the other hand, is typical of fair weather, so when the barometer – or wind glass – rises, then good weather is on the horizon. Sometimes, the quality or scent of the air speaks for itself. For instance, while high pressure tends to keep the natural scents of the earth (plants, soil, etc.) close to the ground, a low pressure system will release their fragrances into the air, as expressed in this old saying:
"When the ditch and pond affect the nose, look out for rain and stormy blows."
Have you ever heard someone say that they know when it’s going to rain because the corns on their feet ache? Well, that’s not an old wives’ tale! When the barometer falls – indicating an approaching storm – a number of people experience aches and pains in these problem areas, which has precipitated the saying:
"If your corns all ache and itch, the weather fair will make a switch."
It’s no coincidence that fish will start jumping when rain is approaching. When the barometric pressure falls, gases are sometimes trapped on the bottom of a pond or lake, causing debris from decaying plants to disperse. When this happens, tiny organisms that hide within the plant matter are flushed into the surrounding waters. As a result, the fish that are present go on a feeding binge and become quite active, due to their excitement at discovering such abundant food in the waters all of a sudden. Therefore, a lot of jumping and splashing will be noted when there’s an impending storm, hence the lore:
"Trout jump high when a rain is nigh."
Other Weather-Related Lore
Call them what you will, there are all types of sayings, adages, pearls of wisdom, wives’ tales or bits of lore regarding the weather and our ability to read the changes in our natural environment. Although some of them may be questionable, there’s typically some kernel of truth behind each of these expressions – some of which hit the nail right on the head – but that’s another adage, altogether.
Some of the more – or less – common sayings that exhibit weather-related events include:
"Plant your beans when the moon is light; you will find that this is right. Plant potatoes when the moon is dark, and to this line you’ll always hark. But if you vary from this rule, you will find you are a fool. Follow this rule to the end, and you’ll have lots of dough to spend."
"When sheep gather in a huddle, tomorrow we will have a puddle"
"When oak is out before the ash, ‘twill be a summer of wet and splash; but if the ash before the oak, ‘twill be a summer of fire and smoke."
"Onion skins very thin, mild winter coming in; onion skins thick and tough, coming winter cold and rough."
"If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion; if it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb."
It seems that even animals are sensitive to the ever-changing weather patterns. During times of low-humidity, cats will often lick their fur incessantly. Since the dry air causes a build-up of static to form in their fur, and cats find this most annoying, they attempt to dissipate the static charge by constantly licking their coat, in order to keep it damp and avoid the static.
Cows, too, have always been looked upon as indicators of the weather. How many times have you heard that when the cows are lying down in the field, then rain must be on the way? If we trace it back, the best that we can come up with by way of explanation is that the cows can detect the moisture in the air and are attempting to find a dry place to lie down. The fact that, under normal circumstances, they prefer not to lie down, makes this theory rather incongruous. Why not just continue to stand and avoid the whole issue? Typical cow catch-22.
Most of the time, when someone spots a squirrel with a bushy tail, you’ll inevitably hear the comment that there must be a harsh winter coming. The same is said to be true about their nut-gathering habits: if they tend to gather a greater abundance of acorns during the autumn months, then folks interpret that to mean that the winter will be tough. In both of these cases, however, there’s been no actual proof that this is true, although it is odd that their tails do seem to be at their bushiest immediately preceding a hard winter season.
The next time someone tells you that they can feel inclement weather coming, don’t doubt for a moment that they know what they’re talking about. Maybe their corns ache, their hair is drooping, they just caught a whiff of ozone in the air – or, maybe, they just saw a bushy-tailed squirrel run by. Through whatever means, some folks just seem to be human weather stations, and are often correct in their predictions about the atmospheric events of the day.