POPULAR WEATHER PROGNOSTICS.
By the Hon. RALPH ABERCROMBY, F. M. S., and WILLIAM MARRIOTT, F. M.
S., reprinted from the “Quarterly Journal of the Meteorological
Society,” published in London.
The attempt to foretell the weather is not of recent date; the ancients
carefully studied the sky and clouds, and endeavored to predict the kind
of weather that was likely to ensue; and a number of the popular
prognostics of the weather of his time are recorded by Aristotle in his
work _on meteors_. In later times our forefathers studied the weather,
and as they had no instruments to guide them they observed natural
objects and noticed the appearances of the sky and clouds, and also the
movements of animals, birds, plants, &c. Shepherds and sailors
especially being exposed to all kinds of weather, would naturally be on
the lookout for any signs of a coming change, and after a time would
begin to associate certain appearances with certain kinds of weather. A
good deal of weather wisdom of the above character has been thrown into
proverbs, trite sayings, and popular verse; and we propose in the
present paper to examine and explain some of these by the aid of the
most recent discoveries of meteorological science. A great advance has
been made in meteorology during the last twenty years, owing to the
introduction of daily synoptic charts of the distribution of atmospheric
pressure, temperature, wind, rain, &c. From these it is evident that
there is a distinct relation existing between the distribution of
pressure and the direction and force of the wind, and the temperature
and weather generally. A glance at a number of the charts shows that
there is nearly always present either an area of low pressure, called a
cyclone, usually having an approximately circular form, and, as a rule,
moving in an easterly or northeasterly direction; or an area of high
pressure, called an anticyclone, also nearly circular in form, but
almost stationary in position. The wind in all cases also blows in a
direction nearly parallel with the isobars, having the region of lowest
pressure on the left hand. This has given rise to the simple law
propounded by Dr. Buy’s Ballot, for the northern hemisphere, viz: “Stand
with your back to the wind, and the barometer will be lower on your left
hand than on your right.” In cyclones the wind circulates in the
opposite way to which the hands of a watch move, but exhibits usually a
little in-draught; while in anticyclones the wind circulates in the same
way as the hands of a watch, but exhibits usually a little outward
motion. The intensity of the wind in all cases depends upon the
closeness of the isobars; for the closer the isobars the greater is the
difference in pressure in a given distance, and consequently the
stronger the wind. Nearly all of our weather is of the cyclonic or
anticyclonic type, and is entirely dependent upon the form and
distribution of the isobars. It is, therefore, by the aid of isobaric
charts that we shall attempt to explain popular prognostics, and to
associate them with certain kinds of weather. The method of research
actually adopted has been for many years past to take notes of any good
observation of any prognostic and put them in a portfolio, with the
nearest synoptic chart available, or preferably with the nearest, both
before and after. When a sufficient number had been collected they were
analyzed, and the remarkable result has been arrived at that the greater
number of prognostics are simply descriptive of the weather and
appearance of the sky, in the different portions of the various shapes
of isobars seen on synoptic charts, and that they indicate foul or fair
weather just as they precede the shifting areas of rain or blue sky
which are mapped out by the isobaric lines. These charts not only show
the success of the prognostics, but also explain wherein they sometimes
fail, by tracing the changes of each particular condition of the
weather. Hitherto the only prognostics which have been accounted for
have been those due to excessive damp, but by means of isobaric charts
many others can be readily explained. It must not be supposed that the
modern methods diminish the value of prognostics, for even in
forecasting weather from synoptic charts they are of great value, and
are always exceedingly useful to solitary observers who have only a
single barometer to depend upon besides these prognostics, as, for
instance, on board ship.
We hope that the present paper will create an interest on the part of
many in this subject, and show that it is within their power to assist
in advancing the science of meteorology, so that it may not remain any
longer in the unsatisfactory state set forth in the following old
Bedfordshire lines:
“Well, Duncombe, how will be the weather?”
“Sir, it looks cloudy altogether,
And coming across our Houghton Green,
I stopped and talked with old Frank Beane.
While we stood there, sir, old Jan Swain
Went by and said he knowed ’twould rain;
The next that came was Master Hunt,
And he declared he knew it wouldn’t.
And then I met with Farmer Blow,
He plainly said he didn’t know,
So, sir, when doctors disagree,
Who’s to decide it, you or me?”
CYCLONE PROGNOSTICS.
We shall first take a typical well formed cyclone. In the accompanying
diagram (Fig. 1) the broad features of the relation of cloud and rain to
a cyclone centre are shown, the full line indicating the path of the
depression, and the dotted line at right angles to it is the trough or
locus of the lowest reading of the barometer.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—WEATHER IN A CYCLONE, NOVEMBER 14, 1875.]
In the extreme front of the depression there is a blue sky, then, as the
barometer begins to fall, and sometimes even before that takes place, a
bank of cirro-stratus, preceded by a halo-bearing sky, makes its
appearance, which gradually becomes lower and denser, and forms an
overcast, dirty sky. In the whole front of the depression the
temperature rises, and the atmosphere feels muggy and close. In the
right-hand front the clouds assume the cumulo-stratus type, with driving
rain later on. In the left-hand front the air is cooler, but still
oppressive, with an easterly wind and overcast sky, succeeded by
drizzling rain or ill-defined showers. When the trough of the depression
has passed the barometer begins to rise, the wind changes and becomes
squally, with showers of rain; the air grows cooler, and the clouds
break and ultimately clear away.
Now, with regard to the prognostics with reference to Fig. 2, where the
characteristic weather in the different portions of a depression are
given in a diagrammatic form, it will be seen that the first indication
of a coming change is the appearance of a halo round the sun or moon in
the cirro-stratus clouds. Hence,
When round the moon there is a brugh,
The weather will be cold and rough.
The moon with a circle brings water in her beak.
Halos predict a storm (rain and wind or snow and wind) at no great
distance, and the open side of the halo tells the quarter from which
it may be expected.
Mock suns predict a more or less certain change of weather.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.—CYCLONE PROGNOSTICS.]
With regard to the open side of the halo indicating the quarter from
which the storm may be expected, it does not appear that this can be
much used as a prognostic. It, however, most probably originated in the
fact that halos are often seen in the southwest or west, when the sun or
moon is rather low, the lower portion of the halo being cut off by
clouds banking up in that direction, and that our storms generally come
from those quarters. As a specimen of the value of prognostics we give
some details of halos. When rain does not fall within thirty-six hours,
any subsequent rain probably belongs to a new depression.
During the six years ending June, 1882, one hundred and fifty-five solar
halos and sixty-one lunar halos were observed in the neighborhood of
London, and they occurred with the following winds:
───────────────────────┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬──────
│ N.│NE.│ E.│SE.│ S.│SW.│ W.│NW.│Total.
───────────────────────┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼──────
Solar halos │ 9│ 7│ 17│ 8│ 22│ 28│ 59│ 5│ 155
Lunar halos │ 4│ 3│ 8│ 3│ 8│ 11│ 21│ 3│ 61
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
WITH SOLAR HALOS. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Rain fell on same day │ 3│ 1│ 10│ 4│ 15│ 12│ 36│ 0│ 81
Rain fell on first day │ 1│ 2│ 1│ 2│ 2│ 10│ 12│ 1│ 31
Rain fell on second day│ 0│ 0│ 1│ 0│ 2│ 1│ 4│ 2│ 10
Rain fell on third day │ 3│ 1│ 0│ 0│ 0│ 1│ 1│ 1│ 7
No rain │ 2│ 3│ 5│ 2│ 3│ 4│ 6│ 1│ 26
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
WITH LUNAR HALOS. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Rain fell on first day │ 1│ 1│ 3│ 3│ 3│ 9│ 13│ 1│ 34
Rain fell on second day│ 0│ 1│ 0│ 0│ 1│ 1│ 3│ 0│ 6
Rain fell on third day │ 1│ 1│ 2│ 0│ 3│ 1│ 0│ 1│ 9
Rain fell on fourth day│ 0│ 0│ 0│ 0│ 0│ 0│ 3│ 1│ 4
No rain │ 2│ 0│ 3│ 0│ 1│ 0│ 2│ 0│ 8
───────────────────────┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴──────
After the halo comes the pale or watery sun and moon.
When the sun appears of a light, pale color or goes down in a bank of
clouds, it indicates the approach or continuance of bad weather.
If the sun goes pale to bed,
’Twill rain to-morrow, it is said.
A red sun has water in his eye.
When the moon has a white look or when her outline is not very clear,
rain or snow is looked for.
From the extreme damp in this part of the depression, while the sky
generally is pretty clear, cloud forms round and “caps” the tops of
hills, a circumstance that has given rise to numerous local sayings:
When the clouds are upon the hills,
They’ll come down by the mills.
When Cheviot ye see put on his cap,
Of rain ye’ll have a wee bit drap.
If Riving Pike do wear a hood,
Be sure the day will ne’er be good.
When Bredon Hill puts on his hat
Ye man of the vale beware of that.
From the same excessive damp the following may be explained:
When the walls are more than usually damp rain is expected.
Doors and windows are hard to shut in damp weather.
The sailor notes the tightening of the cordage on his ship as a sign
of coming rain.
A lump of hemp acts as a good hygrometer, and prognosticates rain when
it is damp.
When walls built of stones which have been quarried below high water
mark become damp, wet weather is at hand.
Also, owing to excessive moisture, clouds appear soft and lowering, and
reflect the glare of iron-works and the lights of large towns:
The glare of the distant Ayrshire iron-works being seen at night from
Cumbræ or Rothsay, rain is expected next day.
In Kinkardine of Monteith (Perthshire) and in all that district the
reflections from the clouds of the furnaces of the Devon and Carrow
works (to the east) foretell rain next day.
Also:
When the flames of candles flare and snap or burn with an unsteady or
dim light, rain, and frequently wind also, are found to follow.
This is especially applicable to oil-lamps or tallow candles.
As the depression approaches and the atmosphere becomes gloomy, close,
and muggy, some people are troubled with rheumatic pains and neuralgia,
old wounds, and corns are painful, animals and birds are restless, and
drains and ditches give out an offensive smell:
When rheumatic people complain of more than ordinary pains in the
joints, it will rain.
If corns, wounds, and sores itch or ache more than usual, rain is to
fall shortly.
A coming storm your shooting corns presage,
And aches will throb, your hollow tooth will rage.
When animals seek sheltered places instead of spreading over their
usual range, an unfavorable change is probable.
Hark! I hear the asses bray,
We shall have some rain to-day.
If oxen turn up their nostrils and sniff the air, or if they lick
their fore feet, or lie on their right side, it will rain.
Goats leave the high grounds and seek shelter before a storm.
Hogs crying and running unquietly up and down with hay or litter in
their mouths, foreshow a storm to be near at hand.
When birds of long flight—rooks, swallows, or others—hang about home
and fly up and down, or low, rain or wind may be expected.
This tumbling of rooks is amongst the best known signs of rain in places
where those birds are found.
When the peacock loudly bawls,
Soon we’ll have both rain and squalls.
If toads come out of their holes in great numbers, rain will soon
fall.
If glow-worms shine much, it will rain.
When gnats bite keenly, and when flies keep near the ground, we look
for wind and rain.
When spider webs are seen floating about in the air, farmers regard it
as a sign of coming rain.
When many bees enter the hive and none leave it, rain is near.
Also, from cloud and gloom, plants shut up their petals early:
The _Convolvulus arvensis_ (small bind-weed), _Anagallis arvensis_
(scarlet pimpernel), and _Calendula pluvialis_ shut up their flowers
before approaching rain. (The _pimpernel_ has been called the poor
man’s weather-glass.)
Dr. Jenner’s well-known lines are very good, as they contain references
to most of the natural prognostics. (See page 110, General Prognostics.)
It will be seen, however, later on, that the sayings about the rainbow,
distant hills, and whirling dust, though good prognostics, do not belong
to a depression.
As the depression centre approaches still nearer, rain sets in and
continues till the barometer turns to rise. The passage of the trough is
often associated with a squall or heavy shower, commonly known as “a
clearing shower.” Immediately the air becomes cooler and loses the
former muggy sensation, and soon small patches of blue sky appear.
When as much blue sky is seen as will make a Dutchman a jacket (or a
sailor breeches) the weather may be expected to clear up.
A small cloudless place in the northeast horizon is regarded both by
seamen and landsmen as a certain precursor of fine weather or a
clearing up.
The steady rain breaks up into showers or cold squalls, which are
followed by hard detached cumulus or strato-cumulus till the sky becomes
blue again:
When after a shower, the cirro-strati open up at the zenith, leaving
broken or ragged edges pointing upwards, and settle down gloomily and
compactly on the horizon, wind will follow, and will last for some
time.
This is a description of a clearing up before the windy portion of a
depression has passed.
In the south of the depression near the outskirts, windy cirrus and
“mare’s tails” are observed, which indicate wind rather than rain, as
they are south of the rainy portion.
The cloud called goat’s hair or the gray mare’s tails forebodes wind.
If clouds look as if scratched by a hen
Get ready to reef your topsails then.
Mackerel sky and mare’s tails,
Make lofty ships carry low sails.
The shift of the wind is different in the right-hand portion of the
depression to what it is in the left-hand portion. In the former, on its
first approach, the wind backs to south and falls very light to an
almost ominous calm. The first puffs or “paws” of wind give rise to a
noise in tree tops without much wind, and little eddies of dust, or to a
whistling of the wind indoors, which are all well-known signs of rain.
Then, as the depression passes along, the wind gradually veers to
southwest and west, with increasing strength. Hence,
When the wind veers against the sun,
Trust it not, for back ’twill run.
When the wind is in the south
It is in the rain’s mouth.
In the left-hand side of the depression the wind will back right round
from south through east to north and northwest. In the rear of the
depression on the left-hand side the wind blows from the northeast and
then north, when the clouds begin to break and the weather to clear.
When the depression has nearly passed away the wind in the rear draws
round to the northwest, and gradually abates, and the weather becomes
fine. Hence the saying:
Do business with men when the wind is in the northwest.
This bringing the finest weather is said to improve men’s tempers, as
opposed to the neuralgic and rheumatic sensations felt in front of a
depression.
WEDGE-SHAPED ISOBAR PROGNOSTICS.
Though the bulk of British weather is made up of cyclones and
anticyclones, there are two other distributions of pressure marked out
by wedge-shaped isobars and straight isobars respectively, which have
never before been described, but which are associated with many
well-known sayings. The chief interest in these prognostics consists in
the contrasts which they present to cyclone prognostics, as in many
cases they are associated with fine or dry weather, as opposed to the
damp of an approaching depression. We shall first describe the
prognostics which characterize the wedge-shaped area of high pressure
that is frequently formed between a retreating and an advancing
depression, as it is by far the most common.
All these prognostics owe their value to the fact that as the new
depression comes on, rain may be expected. By reference to Fig. 3 it
will be seen that in the rear of the retreating depression the weather
is beautifully fine, of the sort of which we should say that it was “too
fine to last,” or, if it lasted a whole day, we should call it a “pet
day.”
[Illustration: FIG. 3.—WEDGE-SHARPED ISOBARS.]
An unseasonably fine day in spring is called a pet day in Scotland.
The fate of pets they say awaits it, and they look for bad weather on
the morrow.
During the day the sun is burning hot:
When the sun burns more than usual, rain may be expected.
During the night white frost is formed, owing to calm radiation:
A white frost never lasts more than three days; a long frost is a
black frost.
Frost suddenly following heavy rain seldom lasts long.
As the day advances after a white frost, the air becomes dull from the
influence of the on-coming depression; whence the saying—
When the frost gets into the air it will rain.
During the very fine weather, on the east side of a wedge-shaped area
there is often great visibility with a cloudless sky:
The further the sight the nearer the rain.
When the Isle of Wight is seen from Brighton or Worthing, rain may be
expected.
When to the people about Arbrouth the Bell-Rock light is particularly
brilliant, rain is expected.
About Cape Wrath and along that part of the coast when the Orkney
Islands are distinctly seen, a storm or a continuation of bad weather
is prognosticated.
When from Ardersier and the adjoining parish on the southeast side of
the Moray Firth the distant Ross-shire hills are distinctly seen in
the morning rain is expected that day.
To the people in Eaglesham, in Renfrewshire, when the Kilpatrick hills
appear near a change to wet is looked for; but when they appear
remote, dry weather will continue.
If the old moon embraces the new moon, stormy weather is foreboded.
Great confidence is placed in this old prognostic:
I saw the new moon late yestreen
Wi’ the old moon in her arm,
And if we gang to sea, master,
I fear we’ll come to harm.
The reason of “visibility” is uncertain; the old idea that it is due to
excess of vapor is certainly erroneous. The dry and wet bulb hygrometer
always indicates a considerable amount of dryness when it is remarked,
and Mr. Cruickshank has shown by long observation at Aberdeen that
visibility is greatest at the driest season of the year.
At the extreme northwest edge of a depression there is often unusual
“refraction,” a well-known sign of rain. This seems to be due to the
cold air in the rear of a depression being much below the temperature of
the sea. If so, it is a sign of rain, for the reason that one depression
is usually followed soon by another, which also explains the saying—
A norwester is not long in debt to a souwester.
Refraction and visibility combined also explain the following curious
local prognostic:
When Ailsa Craig is distinctly seen, and seems near at hand, the
people of Cumbræ look for change. When the weather is going to be
finer it lies flat; but when rain is coming it assumes the form of a
mushroom.
Ailsa Craig is an isolated rock standing in the Firth of Clyde, about
thirty miles from Cumbræ. It has a conical top, with precipitous sides,
so that in ordinary weather only the top is seen lying flat on the
horizon; but sometimes in the rear of a depression it appears lifted by
refraction, and the light encroaches at the edges, as is often seen with
projecting promontories, giving the whole a fanciful resemblance to a
mushroom. The prognostic is mistrusted by the inhabitants during frost,
and we have proved it by our own observation. On the west side of the
wedge-shaped area, as the new depression comes on, the blue sky
gradually assumes a dirty appearance, accompanied by a halo, and gathers
into cloud, and later on rain begins to fall; while in the southern
portion the rain is often preceded by strips of cirrus, either lying in
the direction of the wind, or sometimes at right angles to it:
Cirrus at right angles to the wind is a sign of rain.
STRAIGHT ISOBAR PROGNOSTICS.
Now we come to the consideration of some very interesting rain
prognostics associated with straight isobars. While those in a
depression are preceded by an almost ominous calm, and a dirty, murky
sky, these are associated with a hard sky and blustery wind, of which it
would be ordinarily remarked “that the wind keeps down the rain,” or
“that when the wind falls it will rain.” While also the prognostics
which precede cyclone rain hold good for the reason that they are seen
in front of the rainy portion, those associated with straight isobars
hold good because, though there is little rain actually with them, the
area which they cover to-day will probably be covered by a depression
to-morrow—the conditions being favorable for the passage of depressions.
On turning to Fig. 4 it will be seen that while the pressure is high to
the south, it is generally low to the north, without any definite
cyclonic system, and that the isobars run straight nearly east and west.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.—STRAIGHT ISOBAR PROGNOSTICS.]
Near the high pressure the sky is blue, then as we approach the low
pressure feathery cirrus, or some form of windy sky, makes its
appearance, while a blustery wind whirls the dust, or blows the soot
down; and animals turn their tails to the wind to avoid its force on
their faces:
When chimneys smoke and soot falls, bad weather is at hand. The
whistling of the wind heard within doors denotes rain.
When sheep, cattle, or horses turn their backs to the wind, it is a
sign of rain.
Getting still nearer the low pressure, the sky is found to be gathering
into hard stratus, at first with chinks between its masses, through
which divergent rays stream down under the sun, which is spoken of as
“the sun drawing water.” Sometimes, especially in winter, these rays are
lurid, and are referred to in the following prognostic:
Along the north shore of the Solway, from Dumfries to Gretna, a lurid
appearance in the eastern or southeastern horizon, called from its
direction “a Carlisle sky,” is thought a sure sign of coming rain.
They describe it as lurid and yet yellowish, and the common saying is:
The Carle sky
Keeps not the head dry.
At the same time there is often great “visibility” with a hard overcast
sky, and moderately dry air, in which the stratus seems to play the part
of a sunshade, for as soon as the sun comes out the clearness of distant
objects diminishes. This visibility must not be confounded with the
visibility already described with a cloudless sky, which occurs with
wedge-shaped isobars. Simultaneously we often find “audibility.”
If the noise of a steamer or railway train is heard at a great
distance, rain is predicted.
This distinctness of distant sounds must be carefully distinguished from
sounds which are not usually heard, being brought up by the wind coming
from a rainy quarter. For instance, the whistle of a railway train to
the south of a house will not be usually heard with the normal southwest
wind of this country; but when the wind backs in front of a depression
to the south, then it will be heard, and although this will be a good
prognostic, still it is not true audibility.
When people of Monzie (Perthshire) hear the sound of the waterfalls of
Shaggie, or the roar of the distant Turret clearly and loudly, a storm
is expected; but if the sound seems to recede from the ear till it is
lost in the distance, and if the weather be thick a change to fair may
be looked for speedily.
In Fortingall (Perthshire) if, in calm weather, the sound of the
rapids on the Lyon is distinctly heard, and if the sound descends with
the stream, rainy weather is at hand; but if the sound goes up the
stream and dies away in the distance, it is an omen of continued dry
weather, or a clearing up if previously thick.
The course of Turret and Lyon is from west to east.
True “audibility” is best described by the saying:
A good hearing day is a sign of wet.
Much sound in the air is a sign of rain.
This last exactly conveys the kind of sound referred to. The reason why
audibility is produced is unknown, but the old idea that it is due to
excessive moisture in the air is certainly erroneous; in several
instances we have observed that the upper current of the wind appeared
to be moving much faster than the lower, and perhaps that may have
something to do with it. When the gradients are very steep, a little
rain sometimes falls with straight isobars, generally in light showers,
with a hard sky.
Though as a matter of convenience we have described the sequence of
weather as we proceed from high to the low pressure, it must be clearly
understood that it does not represent the sequence of weather to a
single observer, but rather what the weather will be simultaneously in
different parts of the country; for instance, that if there are cirrus
clouds in London there may perhaps be a lurid sky in Edinburgh. The
prognostic value of all is due to the fact that a depression will soon
form which will probably extend over the whole country.
ANTICYCLONE PROGNOSTICS.
Having spoken of cyclones, we shall now direct our attention to
anticyclones. In the daily weather charts we sometimes see but two or
three isobars, and these are a considerable distance apart, and extend
over a large area. The pressure is highest in the centre, and gradually
diminishes outwards. The air is calm and cold in the central area, but
on the outskirts the wind blows in the direction of the hands of a
watch. These are the special features of an anticyclone. The weather in
an anticyclone is almost the opposite of that in a depression; that in
the latter being wet and unsettled, while that in the former is usually
settled and fine, with more or less haze in the air. Another great
difference is that while depressions are generally rapid in their
movements, anticyclones are nearly stationary; and it is for this reason
that they are associated with “settled” fine weather. In the area of
high pressure the characteristic features are largely modified by what
is termed “radiation” weather, as determined by diurnal and seasonal
variations; and as the pressure is nearly stationary, these diurnal and
seasonal variations are the chief features of anticyclonic weather.
We shall now give the prognostics due to the variations in some detail,
Fig. 5. The sky being generally clear and the air calm, the temperature
is high in the day and low at night. In summer brilliant sun shine
prevails during the day, and at night there is heavy dew, and in
low-lying places mist.
Heavy dews in hot weather indicate a continuance of fair weather, and
no dew after a hot day foretells rain.
If mist rises in low ground and soon vanish, expect fair weather.
Thin, white, fleecy, broken mists, slowly ascending the sides of a
mountain whose top is uncovered, predicts a fair day.
When the mist creeps up the hill,
Fisher out and try your skill.
When in the morning the dew is heavy and remains long on the grass,
when the fog in the valleys is slowly dissipated and lingers on the
hill-side, when the clouds seem to be taking a higher place, and when
a few loose cirro-strati float gently along, serene weather may
confidently be expected for the greater part of that day.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.—ANTICYCLONE PROGNOSTICS.]
These all refer to night radiation, mist being dispersed by the sun’s
rays. Fine, light, genial weather raises the spirits and exerts an
enlivening influence not only on human beings but also on animals,
birds, insects, &c. Hence the saying:
If larks fly high and sing long, expect fine weather.
When sea birds fly out early and far to seaward, moderate winds and
fair weather may be expected.
If rooks go far abroad it will be fine.
Cranes soaring aloft and quietly in the air foreshow fair weather.
If kites fly high, fine weather is at hand.
Wild geese, wild geese, ganging out to sea,
Good weather it will be.
When owls whoop much at night, expect fair weather.
Bats, or flying mice, coming out of their holes quickly after sunset
and sporting in the open air premonstrates fair and calm weather.
Chickweed expands its leaves boldly and fully when fine weather is to
follow.
In winter frost is generally prevalent in the central area of an
anticyclone, accompanied frequently by fog, which is most dense in the
neighborhood of large towns. This is all due to the radiation of calm
weather.
White mist in winter indicates frost.
In the evenings of autumn and spring vapor arising from a river is
regarded as a sure indication of coming frost.
This comes from the air being colder than the water.
When fires burn faster than usual, and with a blue flame, frosty
weather may be expected.
This is caused by reduced temperature of the outer air making a better
draught in the chimney.
In winter when the sound of the breakers on shore is unusually
distinct, frost is indicated.
These last two prognostics are explained by the fact that the atmosphere
is very dense and still in an anticyclone.
In those places where fog does not form the sky will often be clear at
night, whence—
Clear moon,
Frost soon.
In winter when the moon’s horns are sharp and well defined, frost is
expected.
The wind in an anticyclone system blows in the direction of motion of
the hands of a watch, but slightly outwards, and as the anticyclone is
nearly always stationary, the wind blows from the same quarter for
several days together.
When the wind turns from northeast to east and continues two days
without rain, and does not turn south the third day, nor rain the
third day, it is likely to continue northeast for eight or nine days,
all fair, and then come to the south again.
If the wind is northeast three days without rain,
Eight days will pass before south wind again.
The wind is usually very light in force.
It is said to be a sign of continued good weather when the wind so
changes during the day as to follow the sun.
If wind follows sun’s course, expect fair weather.
This “veering with the sun,” as it is called, is the ordinary diurnal
variation of the wind, which in this country is very obvious with the
shallow gradients of an anticyclone. At sea-side places in summer very
often “the wind is in by day and out by night,” which is the equivalent
of the land and sea breezes of the tropics. Like two preceding
prognostics, it is only in anticyclones that local currents of air,
probably due to unequal heating of sea and land, can override the
general circulation of the atmosphere in this country.
Sometimes in winter, on the southern side of the anticyclone, bitter
east winds, with a black-looking sky, will prevail for several days
together, when it may be truly said:
When the wind is in the east
’Tis neither good for man nor beast.
Sometimes also the sky in this region will be covered with a uniform
stratus cloud, which is not of any great thickness, and when breaks
occur, the sun is seen to be shining brightly above.
On the northeast side of the anticyclone in summer, light, cumulus
clouds frequently form in the morning, gradually increase till after the
maximum temperature has passed, and then decrease and disappear towards
evening.
If woollen fleeces spread the heavenly way,
Be sure no rain disturbs the summer day.
When the cumulus clouds are smaller at sunset than they were at noon,
expect fair weather.
Clouds small and round like a dapple gray with a north wind, fair
weather for two or three days.
The cirrus cloud is usually seen on the outskirts of an anticyclone, if
in the front it gradually disappears, but if in the rear it is a sign
that there will be a change in the weather, hence:
If cirrus clouds dissolve and appear to vanish, it is an indication of
fine weather.
If cirrus clouds form in fine weather with a falling barometer, it is
almost sure to rain.
When, after a clear frost, long streaks of cirrus are seen with their
ends bending towards each other as they recede from the zenith, and
when they point to the northeast, a thaw and a southwest wind may be
expected.
Both these latter prognostics refer to a depression coming in and
“breaking up the weather” and the anticyclone.
CONCLUSION.
We have endeavored in this paper to deal with such prognostics as can be
readily classified, but besides these there are many more, what may be
termed unclassified prognostics. Our object has been to show the
relation between certain prognostics and certain forms of isobars, and
by this means to assign them their proper value. It cannot be doubted
that if careful attention were given to the observation of the aspect of
the sky, the different forms of cloud and local signs, these would
prove, even in conjunction with a single barometer reading, of great
assistance in predicting the weather. Of course those persons who live
in the neighborhood of large towns labor under a great disadvantage, as
the sky has nearly always a dirty appearance, and is frequently obscured
by smoke. For this reason London is about the worst place to reside in
for studying the weather.
We have only been able to give the rudiments of the new method of
considering prognostics, for the method is capable of great extension,
and we hope that we may succeed in interesting some of the Fellows
sufficiently to induce them to observe prognostics in conjunction with
the daily weather charts.
In conclusion, we would venture to express our opinion that the
observation of local signs of weather ought to form a most important
element in all arrangements for telegraphic reporting for the purpose of
forecasts, and that the duty should be impressed upon the observers of
reporting at once important changes in the local and general signs of
the weather. Great attention should also be paid to the observation of
the forms and motion of clouds, and as considerable lack of knowledge
prevails, even on the part of good observers, regarding the different
forms and modifications of clouds, we are glad to see that the
meteorological office has already commenced systematic observations of
cirrus clouds. Telegraphic observers should be specially instructed in
cloud observations and prognostics by some one thoroughly well versed in
the subject, so that there may be strict uniformity among all the
observers, but we admit that the proposal presents serious difficulties
in the way of realization.
Theoretically, when the isobars are well defined we ought to be able to
write down the prognostics which might be visible, but practically we
cannot do so. Besides, there are sometimes cases of isobars which have
no well-defined shape, but with which thunder-storms or heavy showers
often occur. These, as is well known, do not affect the barometer, but
are abundantly forewarned by the commonest prognostics, and as the
rainfall is usually heavy in them the failure of the forecast which
omits to notice them is very conspicuous.
The scope of this paper precludes us from entering into the complicated
question of the non-cyclonic rainfalls in this country. It will be
enough to state that the prognostics which precede them are rather those
associated with broken weather, such as bright sunrises or heavy clouds
banking up without the barometer falling, than the muggy, dirty weather
of a cyclone front. The warning they give is also much shorter, rarely
more than three or four hours, if so long.
The result of this paper may be summarized as follows:
The authors explain over one hundred prognostics by showing that they
make their appearance in definite positions relative to the areas of
high and low atmospheric pressure shown in synoptic charts. The method
adopted not only explains many that have not hitherto been accounted
for, but enables the failure as well as the success of any prognostic to
be traced by following the history of the weather of the day on a
synoptic chart. The forms discussed are cyclones, anticyclones,
wedge-shaped and straight isobars. The details of weather in the last
two are now described for the first time. They also point out that
prognostics will never be superseded for use at sea and other solitary
situations, and that prognostics can be usefully combined with charts in
synoptic forecasting, especially in certain classes of showers and
thunder-storms which do not affect the readings of the barometer.[1]
_DISCUSSION._
Dr. Tripe said that some of the Fellows might think the paper hardly
suitable for reading at a meeting or printing in the journal of a
scientific society, but many of them took an interest in such papers,
because they were comparatively simple. In reference to the table of
solar and lunar halos in connection with rainfall, it appeared that rain
was pretty sure to fall within three days after the occurrence of a
lunar halo, and to the extent of 80 per cent., as regards solar halos,
on the first or second day.[2] He considered visibility was a good
prognostic, and afforded a more certain indication of the speedy
occurrence of rain than even mare’s tails. What caused visibility was
unknown to him. The prediction of rain from damp walls depended chiefly
on the previous weather; a sudden change from cold to warm would have
the effect of making walls condense the moisture contained in the air
without approaching rain. The falling of soot down a chimney was, he
thought, hardly a good prognostic; it was caused to a great extent by
the direction and force of the wind, and also the angle at which the
wind struck the chimney-pot. He considered the paper a good one, and a
step in the right direction.
Footnote 1:
The prognostics quoted in the paper have been mostly taken from the
following works:
“Popular Weather Prognostics of Scotland.” By Arthur Mitchell, M. D.,
Edinburgh, New Philosophical Journal. “Weather Lore.” By Richard
Inwards, F. M. S., London, 1869. “A Handbook of Weather Lore.” By Rev.
C. Swainson, M. A., Edinburgh, 1873.
Footnote 2:
The calculation on which his remark on halos was founded is as
follows:
Rain occurred in connection with—
Solar halos. Lunar halos.
Direction of wind S. SW. W. S. SW. W.
Number of observations 22 28 59 8 11 21
Rain within forty-eight hours per cent 79 78 81 50 91 76
Rain on third day do 9 3 7 40 9 0
Dr. Marces said, with regard to visibility being a sign of rain, he had
himself observed on the borders of the Lake of Geneva, that if the
mountains on the opposite side of the lake could be seen very distinctly
on a cloudy day, rain was likely to fall within a short period. On such
occasions the coast appeared much nearer than usual. The late Professor
de la Rive, of Geneva, ascribed this phenomenon to the atmospheric dust
being hygrometric and becoming transparent in damp weather from the
moisture it absorbed.
Mr. Stanley remarked that solar and lunar halos depended upon the
moisture in the air, and that a sign of rain could be better assured by
reference to the hygrometers. He thought that fine weather in front of a
cyclone was due to increase of pressure, and therefore of temperature,
caused by the onward march of the cyclone. This increase of temperature
was known to render sound more audible, and by making the air clearer
distant objects became more visible. It was known that condensed vapors
disappeared under a slight increase of pressure, just as, conversely,
under the ordinary air-pump, vapors appeared on a diminution of
pressure. He considered that the fall of rain in the centre of a cyclone
was caused by the increase of pressure due to the tangential action of
the air in the cyclone. The straight isobars described in the paper,
were, he thought, in segments of a very large cyclone, which was general
in all large displacements of air.
Captain Toynbee thought that the great clearness of the air experienced
when isobars took the wedge-shaped form, was due to the fact that such
isobars represented a ridge of high barometrical pressure, which lay
between two cyclonic systems, and that the high pressure of the ridge
was maintained by air which had previously risen in front of the
advancing cyclonic system, when it had lost most of its moisture, and
now came down as a dry, pure, clear, northwesterly wind. Hence the
clearness of the air was, where wedge-shaped isobars were being
experienced, a sign of rain, because it indicated the fact that a
cyclonic system would soon advance over the same position. This
explanation was based upon the Rev. W. Clement Ley’s theory of the
motion of air in cyclonic systems.
Mr. Scott thought that it might have been desirable to give the
authorities or sources from which some of the principal sayings had been
derived, in order to show which were general and which were of more
local import. Reference had also been made to the prevalence of bad
smells with a falling barometer, and to the fact that rheumatic
affections and neuralgia were felt especially at such a time; but no
attempt had been made to explain the connection of those phenomena. It
was a well-known fact that a sudden reduction of pressure, such as that
experienced by divers when they returned to the surface of the water,
produced neuralgic affections. The authors had described straight line
isobars and their accompanying prognostics, but only for west winds, for
pressure lowest in the north. He should be glad to see the list of
prognostics extended so as to include those for straight isobars with
east winds when the pressure was lowest in the south. With regard to
refraction being a prognostic of rain, in some cases it was a prognostic
of easterly winds, and was recognized as such in the west of Cornwall.
In the past summer he had himself verified this latter statement on
several occasions at Scilly and the Land’s End. The authors, he thought,
spoke a little too strongly when they said the barometer gave no sign of
thunder-storms. The type of isobar which accompanied these was well
known; it exhibited small undulations or incipient bights representing
imperfectly formed secondary depressions. At the same time he must say
that no one yet, in Europe at least, had been able to forecast correctly
the amount of rain for a given day in a given place. The probability of
some rain could be recognized, but no attempt could be made to estimate
its amount. This was apparently owing to ignorance of the conditions of
the upper atmosphere.
Mr. Dyason expressed an opinion that the formulaters of weather
prognostics in the past must have been color-blind, an affliction from
which he was not sure that the authors of the paper were exempt. “Where
are the scarlet, orange, green or gold harmonious, and the general
glow?” He had endeavored in a series of sketches of skies and clouds to
portray the colors as they presented themselves to his mind. In relation
to visibility he referred to the Lakes of Geneva and Lucerne, quoting
the lines used in the locality of Mont P
Si Pilate a un chapeau, le temps se mettra au beau;
A-t-il un collier, on peut la montée risquer;
Mais s’il porte son épée, il y aura une ondée.
Mr. Dyason exhibited a sketch of the Matterhorn taken south of Zermatt
during intense visibility. He did not admit “that London was a bad place
for skies;” those he now exhibited were sketched in a northwestern
suburb of the metropolis.
Professor Archibald considered that some of the prognostics mentioned in
the paper required more explanation. For instance, it was stated that
candles burned with an unsteady light in damp weather, but no reason was
given why they should do so. One very good prognostic in use in Scotland
appeared to have been omitted, namely: “The northwest wind is a
gentleman, and goes to bed.” He would also like to know why fires burned
with a blue flame in frosty weather. He considered that visibility was
often a local phenomenon connected with temperature. He had noticed
intense visibility and a fog in juxtaposition on that very day, when
travelling from Tunbridge Wells to London.
Mr. Symons pointed out that although it might be useful to trace the
origin of some of the weather proverbs, it would be extremely difficult
and perhaps impossible, as some of them were ancient. With regard to the
connection between lunar halos and rainfall, he thought that it would be
curious, considering the large number of wet days in this country, rain
falling on an average every other day, if some of them did not happen to
follow lunar halos. Respecting doors and windows sticking in damp
weather, this was rather the result of existing damp than a forecast of
more damp to come; for if existing damp foretold coming damp it was not
easy to see how dry weather could ever occur. With regard to visibility,
he was glad the authors had referred to Mr. Cruickshank’s observations
at Aberdeen, extending over twenty-one years, and Mr. Symons thought
that much might be learned from a thorough discussion of similar
observations.
Mr. Wilson directed attention to Professor Tyndall’s theory, that
audibility was due to the homogeneity of the atmosphere.
Mr. C. Harding thought that the paper would be useful to an isolated
observer, whose forecast was dependent upon his own observation. It
appeared to him that in classifying the prognostics, the authors of the
paper had rather begged the question—given a certain occurrence which
was admittedly a prognostic of bad weather; this seems to have been
consequently classed as belonging to the front half of a cyclonic
disturbance. He suggested that with each occurrence of the prognostic in
question it would be better to note the existing conditions of
atmospheric distribution, and, finally, to classify by actual
observation. He stated that the form of isobars described by the authors
as wedge-shaped had been referred to many years ago in various
publications, by Captain Toynbee, as a “ridge” of pressure. Some
distinction should have been made between the weather of anticyclone in
summer and in winter, as it differed materially. Audibility had been
referred to as a sign of bad weather; he might say that it was notorious
in ballooning that for a given distance sounds could be heard more
distinctly than on the earth, and in a recent ascent he had noticed that
the shrill voices of children were much more audible than the voices of
grown persons.
Mr. Abercromby, replying, said that Doctor Tripe’s analysis of halos was
interesting, but that if rain did not fall within twenty-four hours
after a halo, any rain after that would not be due to the cyclone which
produced the halo, but to a new one. Damp walls were certainly due to
excess of vapor, not to rapid changes of temperature. Soot was doubtless
blown down by wind, but when used as a prognostic it rather referred to
soot falling out of doors, and was to be attributed to excessive damp.
Halos were unquestionably due to the presence of a thin film of
ice-formed cloud, and not merely to the amount of moisture in the air.
This ice film was only formed in front of cyclones or thunder-storms,
and for that reason was a sign of rain. With regard to visibility
alluded to by several speakers, he could not admit that it was due to
excessive moisture, for the hygrometer showed that it was not so. He
agreed with Captain Toynbee, so far as believing that there was a
descending current of dry, clear air with a northwest wind on the front
side of a “wedge,” but he doubted if that was the whole explanation. In
the centre of anticyclones there was also a descending current of dry
air, but no “visibility.” The diagram of straight isobars was given for
westerly winds, as that type was by far the commonest. Like every other
shape of isobars, the details varied with the type of weather in which
they occurred. In an elementary paper it was considered inexpedient to
go into so much detail. In the case mentioned by Mr. Scott, isobars
trending east and west, but sloping towards the south, the same broad
features as given in the diagram would be reproduced, but with a harder
sky and an east or northeast wind. The prognostics would, however, be
much more likely to fail, for cyclones in the northerly or easterly
types, to which such isobars would belong, did not follow with the same
regularity as in the westerly type. The refraction, which was a
prognostic of east winds on the southwest of an anticyclone, was very
different from the refraction on the northwest edge of a cyclone, which
portended a fresh storm. The chief difference was the haziness of the
horizon in the former case as compared with its visibility in the
latter. The latter kind was hardly known on the south coast of England.
He strongly suspected that the condition common to both kinds was a
relatively cool air over a comparatively warm sea. The type of isobar
which exhibited incipient “bights” or imperfect secondaries, was
doubtless that most frequently associated with thunder-storms, but the
kind of thunder-storms alluded to in the paper as showing no trace on
the isobars undoubtedly occurred. Any reference to cloud or sky colors
was intentionally omitted in this paper, as also to prognostics relating
to diurnal winds. Candles burned badly before rain, probably owing to a
stagnant, damp air. Blue flame was owing to the formation of carbonic
oxide when a fire burned very red on a frosty night. Doors and windows
sticking in damp weather indicated rain because damp preceded the rain
area of a cyclone.
The idea suggested by Mr. C. Harding, that because certain prognostics
were known to be associated with bad weather, therefore they were
classed as belonging to the front of a cyclone, was entirely erroneous,
and exactly opposite to what had been done. The method Mr. Abercromby
had adopted for the last twelve years had been, when he observed a good
example of any prognostic, to make a note and put it by with the nearest
synoptic chart for the day, or often with both the preceding and
succeeding charts. When a sufficient number had been collected, the
charts were examined, and the necessary deductions drawn from them. Thus
the charts were classified according to the prognostics associated with
them. The results of all these researches had been embodied in the
paper, and the important fact deduced was that every portion of every
shape of isobars had a characteristic weather and appearance. The
general fact of a “wedge” being associated with fine weather had been
noticed many years ago by Captain Toynbee, but the details of weather in
different portions, and their relations to prognostics, had a
considerable amount of novelty.
Mr. Marriott said that it would be impossible to give the authorities or
sources from which all the sayings in the paper had been derived, but
the foot-note on page 23 contained a list of the works from which the
quotations had been made. The authors on the present occasion had only
dealt with certain classified prognostics; and this would explain why
many others had not been noticed. They hoped, however, to deal with
these in a future paper.
POPULAR WEATHER PROVERBS AND PROGNOSTICS.
PROVERBS RELATING TO ANIMALS.
=Ass.=
An old adage says:
When the ass begins to bray,
Be sure we shall have rain that day.
=Beaver.=
In early and long winters, the beaver cuts his winter supply of wood and
prepares his house one month earlier than in mild, late winters.
=Bears.=
When bears lay up food in the fall, it indicates a cold winter.
If the tracks of bear are seen after the first fall of snow, an open,
mild winter may be expected.
Bears and coons are always restless before rain.
The bear comes out on the 2d of February, and if he sees his shadow, he
returns for six weeks.
Expect rain when dogs eat grass.
=Buck’s Horn.=
If dry be the buck’s horn
On Holyroad morn,
’Tis worth a vest of gold;
But if wet it be seen
Ere Holyroad e’en,
Bad harvest is foretold.
=Bull.=
If the bull leads the van in going to pasture, rain must be expected;
but if he is careless and allows the cows to precede him, the weather
will be uncertain.
=Cats.=
When cats sneeze it is a sign of rain.
The cardinal point to which a cat turns and washes her face after a rain
shows the direction from which the wind will blow.
If the cat is basking in the sun of February, it must go again to the
stove in March. (German.)
When cats are snoring foul weather follows.
When cats are washing themselves fair weather follows.
Cats with their tails up and hair apparently electrified indicate
approaching wind.
It is a sign of rain if the cat washes her head behind her ear. (Old
lady on Cape Cod.)
Cats clean table-legs, tree-trunks, &c., before storms.
When a cat scratches itself, or scratches on a log or tree, it indicates
approaching rain.
If sparks are seen when stroking a cat’s back, expect a change of
weather soon.
When a cat washes her face with her back to the fire expect a thaw in
winter.
When cats lie on their head with mouth turned up expect a storm.
Cats purr and wash; dogs eat grass; sheep eagerly eat and turn in the
direction of the wind-point; oxen sniff the air, and swine are restless
before rain.
Cats have the reputation of being weather-wise, an old notion which has
given rise to a most extensive folk-lore. It is almost universally
believed that good weather may be expected when the cat washes herself,
but bad when she licks her coat against the grain, or washes her face
over her ears, or sits with her tail to the fire. As, too, the cat is
supposed not only to have a knowledge of the state of the weather, but a
certain share in the arrangement of it, it is considered by sailors to
be most unwise to provoke a cat. Hence they do not much like to see a
cat on board at all, and when one happens to be more frisky than usual
they have a popular saying that the cat has a gale of wind in her tail.
A charm often resorted to for raising a storm is to throw a cat
overboard; but, according to an Hungarian proverb, as a cat does not die
in water its paws disturb the surface; hence the flaws on the surface of
the water are named by sailors “cat’s-paws.” In the same way also a
large flurry on the water is a “cat’s-skin;” and in some parts of
England a popular name for the stormy northwest wind is the
“cat’s-nose.”
=Chipmunk.=
In cold and early winters the chipmunk is very abundant on the south
shore of Lake Superior, and are always housed for the winter in October.
In short and mild winters they are seen until the 1st of December.
=Cattle.=
When a storm threatens, if cattle go under trees, it will be a shower;
if they continue to feed, it will probably be a continuous rain. (New
England.)
When cows fail their milk, expect stormy and cold weather.
When cows bellow in the evening, expect snow that night.
In Texas, when cattle hasten to timber, expect a “norther.”
When a cow stops and shakes her foot, it indicates that there is bad
weather behind her.
When cows refuse to go to pasture in the morning, it will rain before
night.
When cattle collect near the barn long before night and remain near the
barn till late in the morning, expect a severe winter.
Expect rain when cattle low and gaze at the sky.
Cattle are also said to foreshow rain when they lick their forefeet, or
lie on the right side, or scratch themselves more than they usually do
against posts or other objects.
When cattle go out to pasture and lie down early in the day, it
indicates early rain.
=Deer.=
When deer are in gray coat in October, expect a severe winter.
=Dogs.=
Dogs digging or making deep holes in the ground are said to indicate
rain thereby.
If a dog howls when some one leaves the house it indicates rain.
When a dog or cat eats grass in the morning it will certainly rain
before night.
When dogs eat grass rain follows.
Dogs refusing meat is an indication of rain.
=Donkey.=
When the donkey blows his horn
’Tis time to house your hay and corn.
=Domestic Animals.=
Domestic animals stand with their heads from the coming storm.
=Flying squirrels.=
When the flying squirrels sing in midwinter, it indicates an early
spring.
=Foxes.=
Foxes barking at night indicates storm.
=Ground-squirrel.=
When the ground-squirrel is seen in winter, it is a sign that snow is
about over.
=Ground-hog.=
If on Candlemas day (2d February) it is bright and clear, the ground-hog
will stay in its den, thus indicating that more snow and cold are to
come; but if it snows or rain he will creep out, as the winter has
ended. (German.)
=Goat.=
The goat will utter her peculiar cry before rain.
=Hares.=
Hares take to the open country before a snow-storm.
=Hogs.=
Hogs pick and store straws, leaves, &c., before cold weather.
Hogs rubbing themselves in winter indicates an approaching thaw.
=Horse-hair.=
If the hair of a horse grows long early, expect an early winter.
The hair of a horse appears rough just before rain.
=Horses and cattle.=
When horses and cattle stretch out their necks and sniff the air it will
rain.
Horses, as well as some other domestic animals, foretell the coming of
rain, by starting more than ordinary, and appearing in other respect
restless and uneasy on the road.
Horses and mules very lively without apparent cause indicate cold.
When horses assemble in the corner of a field, with heads to leeward,
expect rain.
Kine, when they assemble at one end of a field with their tails to
windward, often indicate rain or wind. During the dead calm before a
storm we may often see them extending their nostrils, with the head
upwards, snuffing the air; this prognostic has been noticed of old by
Virgil, and after him by Lord Bacon and others.
=Mole.=
If the mole dig his hole two feet and a half deep, expect a very severe
winter; if two feet deep, not so severe; if one foot deep, a mild
winter.
When the moles throw up the earth, rain follows soon.
=Musk-rat.=
The musk-rats build their houses twenty inches higher and very much
warmer in early and long winters than in short ones.
=Noise.=
Animals making unusual noise indicates change of weather.
=Oxen and Sheep.=
When oxen or sheep collect together as if they were seeking shelter, a
storm may be expected. (Apache Indians.)
=Pigs.=
Pigs uneasy, grunting, and huddling together, indicate cold.
When pigs busy themselves gathering leaves and straw to make a bed (in
fall), expect a cold winter.
When in winter pigs rub against the side of their pen, it is a sure sign
of a thaw.
If the forward end of a pig’s melt is thicker than the other end, the
first part of winter will be the colder. If the latter end is thicker,
the last part of winter will be the colder.
When pigs go about with sticks in their mouths, expect a “norther” in
Texas.
=Prairie Dogs.=
Prairie dogs bank up their holes with grass and dirt before a storm; if
they are playful, it is a sign of fair weather.
=Partridges.=
Partridges drum only in fall when a mild and open winter follows.
=Rabbits.=
In cold, long winters rabbits are fat in October and November; in mild
and pleasant winters they are poor in those months.
Rabbits seek the woods before a severe storm.
=Rats and Mice.=
Much noise made by rats and mice indicates rain.
=Swine.=
If swine be restless and grunt loudly, if they squeal and jerk up their
ears, there will be much wind. Whence the proverb, “Pigs can see the
wind.”
Swine make lairs on south side of shelter before cold weather.
=Squirrels, etc.=
When squirrels and small animals lay away a larger supply of food than
usual, it indicates that a long and severe winter will follow.
When squirrels lay in a winter supply of nuts, expect a cold winter.
When he eats them on the tree,
Weather as warm as warm can be.
When squirrels are scarce in the autumn, it indicates a cold winter.
=Sheep.=
If sheep ascend hills and scatter, expect clear weather.
Sheep bleat and seek shelter before snow.
You may shear your sheep
When the elder blossoms peep.
=Sand Mole.=
The sand mole makes a mournful noise just before frost.
=Spaniels.=
When the spaniel sleeps it indicates rain.
=Wolves.=
Wolves always howl more before a storm; deer and elk come down from the
mountains at least two days before a storm.
If the wolves howl and foxes bark during the winter, expect cold
weather.
If wolves howl in the evening, expect a “norther.” (Texas.)
=Mammals as Weather Prophets.=
Dr. C. C. Abbott showed that the autumnal habits of certain animals that
are popularly supposed to be indicative of the character of the coming
winter could not be depended upon, although by the majority of people
living in the country they were considered as sure indications of what
the winter would prove to be. Dr. Abbott had kept a careful record,
extending over twenty years, regarding the building of winter houses by
musk-rats, the storing of nuts by squirrels, and other habits of these
mammals, and had found that the habits referred to, or their omission in
certain autumns, bore no relation to the character of the coming winter.
(Trenton Nat. Hist. Soc., meeting February 13, 1883.)
PROVERBS RELATING TO BIRDS.
Birds of Passage.
When birds of passage arrive early in their southern passage, severe
weather may be looked for soon.
When birds cease to sing, rain and thunder will probably occur.
If birds in general pick their feathers, wash themselves, and fly to
their nests, expect rain.
A dry summer will follow when birds build their nests in exposed places.
Birds flying in groups during rain or wind indicate hail.
Birds and fowl oiling feathers indicate rain.
Birds singing during rain indicate fair weather.
If birds in the autumn grow tame,
The winter will be too cold for game.
=Bats.=
Bats flying late in the evening indicate fair weather.
Bats who speak flying tell of rain to-morrow.
If bats flutter and beetles fly about, there will be a fine morrow.
=Blackbirds.=
Blackbirds’ notes are very shrill in advance of rain.
Blackbirds flying south in autumn indicate an approaching cold winter.
Blackbirds bring healthy weather.
Blackbirds flocking in the fall indicate a spell of cold weather.
=Buzzards.=
A solitary turkey-buzzard at a great altitude indicates rain.
Buzzards flying high indicate fair weather.
=Bluebirds.=
When bluebirds twitter and sing, they call to each other of rain.
=Chickens.=
Chickens, when they pick up small stones and pebbles and are more noisy
than usual, afford, according to Aratus, a sign of rain. Other authors
prognosticate the coming of rain from the habit fowls have of rubbing in
the dust and clapping their wings.
When chickens crow before sundown, it is a sign of rain next day.
Chickens are said to be very noisy just before rain and cocks to crow at
unusual hours.
If chickens go out in the rain, it will rain all day.
When chickens come down from roost at night, rain will soon follow.
During rain if chickens pay no attention to it, you may expect a
continued rain; if they run to shelter, it won’t last long.
When chickens light on fences during rain to plume themselves, it will
soon clear.
=Chimney Swallows.=
When chimney swallows circle and call, they speak of rain. (Zuñi
Indians.)
=Cocks.=
Cocks are said to clap their wings in an unusual manner before rain, and
hens to rub in the dust and seem very uneasy.
If the cock moult before the hen,
We shall have weather thick and thin;
But if the hen moult before the cock,
We shall have weather hard as a block.
If the cock crows more than usual or earlier, expect rain.
=Cormorants.=
When cormorants fly from the sea and sea fowls seek their prey in pools
or ponds, expect wind.
=Cranes.=
If cranes appear early in the autumn, expect a severe winter.
There will be no rain the day the crane flies down the creek.
When cranes make a great noise or scream, expect rain.
Cranes follow the last frost.
If cranes come early in autumn, expect a severe winter.
If cranes place their bills under their wings, expect rain.
When the cranes early (in October) fly southward, it indicates a cold
winter.
=Crows.=
One crow flying alone is a sign of foul weather; but if crows fly in
pairs, expect fine weather.
If crows fly south, a severe winter may be expected; if they fly north,
the reverse.
If the crows make much noise and fly round and round, expect rain.
=Cuckoo.=
If the cuckoo is heard long after St. John’s day, it means harsh times.
(German.)
When the cuckoo comes to the bare shorn,
Sell your cow and buy your corn;
But when he comes to the full bit,
Sell your corn and buy your sheep.
In April he opens his bill;
In May he sings all day;
In June he alters his tune;
Come August, go he must.
Cuckoos hallooing in low lands indicate rain; on high lands indicate
fair weather.
=Dove.=
Don’t plant your corn when the turtle-dove cries.
=Domestic Fowl.=
Domestic fowls dress their feathers when the storm is about to cease.
Domestic fowls look toward the sky before rain.
Domestic fowls stand on one leg before cold weather.
When fowls collect together and pick or straighten their feathers,
expect a change of weather.
When fowls roost in day-time expect rain.
=February Birds.=
If birds caught in February are fat and sleek, it is a sign of more cold
weather.
=Finch.=
When the finch chirps, rain follows.
=Geese.=
Wild geese fly high in pleasant weather and low in bad weather.
The whiteness of a goose’s breast-bone indicates the amount of snow
during winter.
If the November goose bone be thick,
So will the winter weather be;
If the November goose bone be thin,
So will the winter weather be.
A very heavy plumage of geese in fall indicates an approaching cold
winter.
Everything is lovely, and the goose hawks high (not hangs high, as is
usually stated). Geese flying high is a sign of fair weather.
If the breast-bone of a goose is red, or has many red spots, expect a
cold and stormy winter; but if only a few spots are visible, the winter
will be mild.
When you see geese in water washing themselves, expect rain.
Geese wash and sparrows fly in flocks before rain.
When geese fly at ten o’clock, or in the first part of the night, it is
a sign of cold weather.
If domestic geese walk east and fly west, expect cold weather.
When geese and ducks go into the water and flap their wings, throwing
the water over their backs, rain is approaching.
When geese or ducks stand on one leg, expect cold weather.
To read the winter of any year take the breast-bone of a goose hatched
during the preceding spring. The bone is translucent and it will be
found to be colored and spotted. The dark color and heavy spots indicate
cold. If the spots are of light shade and transparent, wet weather,
rain, or snow may be looked for.
=Grouse.=
When grouse drum at night, Indians predict a deep fall of snow.
=Gulls.=
Gulls will soar to lofty heights, and circling round utter shrill cries
before a storm.
=Hawk.=
When men-of-war-hawks fly high, it is a sign of a clear sky; When they
fly low, prepare for a blow.
=Hedge Sparrow.=
If the hedge sparrow is heard before the grape-vine is putting forth its
buds, it is said that a good crop is in store.
=Heron.=
When heron fly up and down as in doubt where to rest, expect rain.
=Hen.=
When the hen crows, expect a storm within and without.
=Jackdaws.=
These birds frequent the flocks of rooks, and with them go out to feed,
as if they were aware of the superior sagacity of the rook in finding
out the most productive pasture, and had learned to avail themselves of
it. Starlings sometimes do the same. Sometimes before the change of
weather the daws make a great noise in the chimneys wherein they build,
and the sound coming down the flue is distinctly heard in the chamber.
Jackdaws are unusually clamorous before rain.
=Kites.=
Kites flying unusually high are said to indicate fair weather.
=Larks.=
Larks, when they sing long and fly high, forebode fine weather.
As long as the lark is heard before Candlemas day (in Europe), that long
will it be silent afterward on account of cold yet to come. (German.)
=Loon.=
Hunters say that the direction in which the loon flies in the morning
will be the direction of the wind next day.
=Larks.=
Field larks, congregating in flocks, indicate severe cold.
=Magpies.=
Magpies, flying three or four together and uttering harsh cries, predict
windy weather.
=Missel Thrush.=
Missel thrush have been observed to sing particularly loud just before a
storm.
=Martins.=
When martins appear, winter has broken.
No killing frost after martins.
Martins fly low before and during rainy weather.
=Migratory.=
Migratory birds fly south from cold and north from warm weather. When a
severe cyclone is near, they become puzzled and fly in circles, dart in
the air and can be easily decoyed. (Observer on North Carolina coast.)
=Owls.=
Owls hooting indicate rain.
If owls scream in foul weather, it will change to fair.
If owls hoot at night, expect fair weather.
The various omens which vulgar credulity has attached to the hooting and
screaming of this bird deserve particular attention. When an owl hoots
or screeches, sitting on the top of a house or by the side of a window,
it is said to foretell death. The fact seems to be this: The owl, as
Virgil justly observes, is more noisy at the change of weather, and as
it often happens that patients with lingering diseases die at the change
of weather so the owl seems, by a mistaken association of ideas, to
forebode the calamity. Both the screech owl and the howlet seem to be
alluded to among the harmful fowls in Spencer’s Fairy Queen.
=Screech Owl.=
A screeching owl indicates cold or storm.
=Parrots.=
Parrots whistling indicate rain.
It is said that parrots and canaries dress their feathers and are
wakeful the evening before a storm.
=Peacocks.=
When the peacock’s distant voice you hear,
Are you in want of rain? Rejoice, ’tis almost here.
When the peacock loudly bawls
Soon we’ll have both rain and squalls.
If the peacock cries when he goes to roost, and, indeed, much at any
time, it is a sign of rain.
When peacocks and guinea fowls scream and turkeys gobble, expect rain.
The squalling of the peacock by night often foretells a rainy day.
Peafowl utter loud cries before a storm, and select a low perch.
=Petrels.=
Petrels gathering under the stern of a ship indicate bad weather.
The stormy petrel is found to be a sure token of stormy weather. When
these birds gather in numbers under the wake of a ship, the sailors are
sure of an impending tempest.
=Pintado.=
Before rain the pintados, or guinea fowls called comebacks, squall more
than usual.
=Pigeons.=
Pigeons return home unusually early before rain.
It is a sign of rain when pigeons return slowly to the dovehouses before
the usual time of day.
=Prairie Chickens.=
Prairie chickens coming into the creeks and timber indicate cold
weather.
When the prairie chicken sits on the ground with all its feathers
ruffled, expect cold weather.
=Quail.=
When quails are heard in the evening, fair weather is indicated for next
day.
Quails are more abundant during an easterly wind.
=Red Breasts.=
Red breasts grow bolder and perch against the window in advance of
unusually severe weather.
=Robins.=
First robins indicate the approach of spring.
Long and loud singing of robins in the morning denote rain.
Robins will perch on the topmost branches of trees and whistle when a
storm is approaching.
=Rooks.=
If rooks fly irregularly and high, and seem to fall, expect rain.
Rooks dart and swoop through the air, sparrows group together and keep
up a discordant chirping before rain.
=Rooster.=
A crowing rooster during rain indicates fair weather.
When the roosters go crowing to bed they will rise with watery head.
If a rooster crows on the ground, it is a sign of rain; if he crows on
the fence, it is a sign of fair weather.
=Sea Birds.=
If sea birds fly towards land and land birds toward the sea, expect wind
without rain.
=Sea-gulls.=
If sea-gulls fly inland, expect storm.
When sea-gulls fly to land, a storm is at hand.
=Snow-birds.=
When snow-birds gather in flocks and light on fences and hedges, expect
rain.
=Storks.=
If storks and cranes fly high and steady, expect fair weather.
=Summer Birds.=
When summer birds take their flight, the summer goes with them.
=Swallow.=
When swallows in evenings fly high and chirp, fair weather follows; when
low, rain follows.
When the swallow’s nest is high
The summer is very dry;
When the swallow buildeth low
You can safely reap and sow.
When the swallows fly low, or when the geese fly, expect storm or cold.
Swallows skimming along the ground indicate rain.
Swallows flying low indicate rain.
Circling swallows indicate rain.
=Swan.=
The swan builds its nest high before high waters, but low when there
will not be unusual rains.
=Thrush.=
When the thrush sings at sunset a fair day will follow.
=Turkeys.=
Turkeys perched on trees and refusing to descend indicates snow.
Water turkeys flying against the wind indicate falling weather.
=Vultures.=
Vultures are considered as evil omens, in consequence, probably, of
their following armies for the sake of carcasses of the slain, whereon
they feed. When they scent carrion at a great distance, they indicate
that state of the atmosphere which is favorable to the perception of
smells, which often forebodes rain.
=Water Fowl.=
If water fowl scream more than usual and plunge into water, expect rain.
If water fowl make more noise than usual, also if robins approach nearer
houses than usual, expect frost soon.
=Wild Ducks.=
Wild ducks scattered around the lakes near Lake Superior form in large
flocks and go south one month earlier in cold or early winters than in
mild or pleasant winters.
=Wild Geese.=
Wild geese flying over in great numbers indicates approaching storm.
Wild geese, wild geese, going to the sea,
Good weather it will be;
Wild geese, wild geese, going to the hill,
The weather it will spill.
Wild geese moving south indicates approaching cold weather, moving
north, indicates that most of winter is over.
When wild geese fly to the southeast in the fall, in Kansas, expect a
blizzard.
Wild geese flying directly south and very high indicates a very cold
winter. When flying low and remaining along the river they indicate a
warm winter in Idaho. For spring, just the reverse when flying north.
(Old settler.)
Wild geese flying past large bodies of water indicates change of
weather; going south cold, going north warm.
=Woodcock.=
An early appearance of woodcock indicates the approach of a severe
winter.
=Woodpecker.=
When the woodpecker leaves, expect a hard winter.
When woodpeckers peck low on the trees, expect warm weather.
The ivory-billed woodpecker commencing at the bottom end of a tree and
going to the top, removing all the outer bark, indicates a hard winter
with deep snow.
=Wrens.=
When wrens are seen in winter, expect snow.
PROVERBS RELATING TO CLOUDS.
STORM-PRESAGING CLOUDS.
[From the New York Herald.]
An English meteorologist, the Hon. F. A. R. Russell, who for many years
has been a cloud observer, has recently given his conclusions as to the
predictive value of the upper clouds. As a celebrated example of the
clews given by cirrus clouds to coming weather he mentions that the Rev.
Mr. Ley, on a fine day, noticing certain indications of the upper clouds
in London, telegraphed from the strand to the meteorological office
ordering warnings of a heavy thunder-storm for four o’clock that
afternoon, which at the preannounced hour came crashing over the
metropolis. Mr. Russell’s researches lead him to the conviction that the
cirrus cloud is often a more timely monitor of approaching storms than
the barometer, and that the “bar or ribbed cirrus,” though somewhat
uncommon, is “at least equal in value to the falling barometer as a
danger signal.” He finds also that “detached patches of cirrus, like
little masses of wool or knotted feathers, in a clear sky and of unusual
figure, moving at more than the average rate, precede disturbances of
great magnitude.”
From Aristotle’s time the value of cloud signs in storm and rain
prognostications has been recognized, but their interpretation has only
recently become possible, since the movement of storm centres over wide
areas has been systematically traced. The irregular motions of the high
clouds, perhaps more than their forms (presenting the appearance of
having been divided and torn by uprushing currents), indicate dangerous
cyclones. If the equatorial air current in which cyclones are borne
along is undisturbed by a cyclonic vortex, the clouds floating in its
higher strata would sail on it at a uniform rate. But if we suppose that
a storm is moving in the great current, the ascending air in the storm’s
centre is ceaselessly invading the cloud stratum above. It is this
uprushing air which divides the clouds. But as the interchange between
the surface and upper air in the cyclone centre tends to retard the
swift upper current which transports the cirriform clouds, the motion of
these clouds, both over the storm centre and far out in front of it,
must often be retarded. The very rapidly moving cirrus clouds which Mr.
Russell says precede great disturbances must precede them at great
distances from their centres—a fact which enhances their predictive
value and shows the importance of observing them systematically. The
terrible loss of life and property in the British gale of October 14,
1881, this writer thinks might have been less had the cloud portents
been duly watched and heeded, as the cirrus indications of the day
previous gave sufficient warning of the coming storm.
=Anvil Clouds.=
Anvil-shaped clouds are very likely to be followed by a gale of wind.
=Appearances.=
Soft-looking delicate clouds foretell fine weather with weak, moderate,
or light breezes. Hard edged, oily appearing clouds, wind. A dark,
gloomy, blue sky indicates wind; a bright, blue sky clear fine weather.
Generally the softer the clouds the less wind. Small inky clouds
foretell rain.
=Assemblage of Clouds.=
If an assemblage of small clouds spread out or become thicker and
darker, expect rain.
=Against the Wind.=
If you see a cloud rise against the wind, when that cloud comes up to
you the wind will blow the same way that the cloud came, and the same
rule holds good of a clear place when all the sky is equally thick
except one clear edge. (Shepherd.)
=Bull’s Eye.=
A small, fast-growing, black cloud in violent motion seen in the
tropics, is called the Bull’s Eye, and precedes the most terrible
hurricanes.
=Black Clouds.=
Black clouds in the north in winter indicate approaching snow.
=Black Scuds.=
Small black scuds (clouds), drifting from southwest, is a sign of rain.
=Bright—Dark.=
If clouds be bright,
’Twill clear to-night;
If clouds be dark,
’Twill rain, do you hark?
=Blue Sky.=
Enough blue sky in the northwest to make a Scotchman a jacket is a sign
of approaching clear weather.
=Cirro-Cumuli.=
When cirro-cumuli appear in winter expect warm and wet weather. When
cirri threads are brushed back from a southerly direction expect rain
and wind.
=Cirri and Cumulus.=
When cirri merge into cerro-stratus, and when cumulus increase towards
evening and become lower clouds, expect wet weather.
=Cumulus Clouds.=
If a fair day, with cumulus clouds, expect rain before night.
=Curdly Sky.=
A curdly sky will not leave the earth long dry.
A curdly sky will not be twenty-four hours dry.
=Cross-Wind Clouds.=
If you see clouds going cross wind, there is a storm in the air.
=Clouds—Wind.=
Clouds flying against the wind indicate unsettled weather.
=Dusky Clouds.=
Dusky or tarnish-silver colored clouds indicate hail.
=Disperse.=
When clouds, after a rain, disperse during the night, the weather will
not remain clear.
=Dark Sky.=
If the sky becomes darker without much rain and divides into two layers
of clouds, expect sudden gusts of wind.
Dark clouds in the west at sunrise indicate rain on that day.
=Equinox.=
If it blows in the day it generally hushes toward evening.
The vernal equinoctial gales are stronger than the autumnal.
=East Wind.=
If rain falls during an east wind, it will continue a full day.
=East Clouds.=
Clouds in the east, obscuring the sun, indicate fair weather.
=Evening and Morning.=
Evening red and morning gray will set the traveller on his way. But
evening gray and morning red will bring down rain upon his head.
=Fair.=
If the sky beyond the clouds is blue,
Be glad, there is a picnic for you.
When there is enough clear sky to patch a Dutchman’s breeches, expect
fair weather.
=Fleecy Clouds.=
If, in winter, the clouds appear fleecy, with a very blue sky, expect
cold rain or snow.
If there be a fleecy sky, unless driving northwest, expect rain.
When the clouds are formed like fleeces, but dense in the middle and
bright toward the edge, with the sky bright, they are signs of a frost,
with hail, snow, or rain.
If the woolly fleeces strew the heavenly way,
Be sure no rain disturb the summer day.
=Fine Weather.=
If clouds at the same height drive up with the wind, and gradually
become thinner and descend, expect fine weather.
=Gusts.=
If there be a cloudy sky and dark clouds driving fast under higher
clouds, expect violent gusts of wind.
=General Cloudiness.=
When a general cloudiness covers the sky and small, black fragments of
clouds fly underneath, they indicate rain, and probably it will be
lasting.
=Hen Scarts.=
Hen scarts and filly tails
Make lofty ships wear low sails.
=High, Dark Clouds.=
If high, dark clouds are seen, in spring, winter, or fall, expect cold
weather.
=Heavy Sky.=
If the sky after fine weather becomes heavy with small clouds, expect
rain.
=High Clouds.=
If clouds form high in air in their white trains like locks of wool,
they portend wind and probably rain.
=Hues.=
Clouds being soft, undefined, and feathery, will be fair. Generally, any
deep, unusual hue of clouds indicate rain and wind, while the more quiet
and moderate tints indicate fair weather.
=Heavy Rains.=
If clouds float at different heights and rates, but generally in
opposite directions, expect heavy rains.
=Horizontal Clouds.=
Narrow, horizontal red clouds after sunset in the west indicate rain
before thirty-six hours.
=Hills.=
When clouds are on the hills
They’ll come down by the mills.
=Isolated Clouds.=
When on clear days isolated clouds drive over the zenith from the
rain-wind side (see table I, part II) storm and rain follow within
twenty-four hours.
=June.=
It never clouds up in a June night for a rain.
=Lookout Mountain.=
When Lookout Mountain has its cap on, it will rain in six hours.
=Low Clouds.=
Clouds floating low enough to cast shadows on the ground are usually
followed by rain.
=Mackerel Sky.=
Mackerel sky, mackerel sky,
Never long wet, never long dry.
=Mackerel Clouds.=
The mackerel clouds always indicate storm if they first appear about 15°
north of west. (Kansas.)
Mackerel scales and mare’s tails
Make lofty ships carry low sails.
Mackerel clouds in sky,
Expect more wet than dry.
=Mountain Clouds.=
When the clouds hang on the mountain side after a rain and the sun
shines on the top of the mountain, the storm is over. When gray clouds
are seen for several days on the tops of high mountains, in the fall,
they indicate an early winter. (Apache Indians.)
=Mackerel Scales.=
Mackerel scales,
Furl your sails.
A mackerel sky,
Not twenty-four hours dry.
=Northwest Clouds.=
If a layer of thin clouds drive up from the northwest, and under other
clouds moving more to the south, expect fine weather.
=Opening.=
If clouds open and close, rain will continue.
=Red Sky.=
When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red;
and in the morning it will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red
and lowering. (Matthew xvi, 2, 3.)
When clouds are gathered toward the sun at setting, with a rosy hue,
they foretell rain.
If there be red clouds in the west at sunset it will be fair; if the
clouds have a tint of purple it will be very fine, or if red bordered
with black in the southeast.
=Rounded Clouds.=
A cloud with rounded top and flattened base carries rainfall on its
face.
Red clouds at sunrise indicate storm.
Red clouds at sunrise indicate rain on the following day.
=Storm.=
Behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea like a man’s hand.
Prepare thy chariot and get thee down that the rain stops thee not. And
it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds
and wind and there was great rain. (Kings xviii, 44, 45.)
=Stratus.=
Stratus or fall cloud is a fog or mist, so called from being strewed
along the ground, and from its consisting of particular kinds of clouds,
which fall at night-time to the ground. A stratus in the morning, in
autumn, often ushers in some of the finest days we enjoy.
=Sunday Sunset.=
If Sunday sunset is obscured, expect rain before Wednesday.
=Salt Lake Valley.=
A horizontal streak or band of clouds immediately in front of the
mountains on the east side of Salt Lake valley is an indication of rain
within one or two days. When black clouds cover the western horizon,
rain will follow soon, and extend to the eastward over the valley.
(Observer at Salt Lake.)
=Storm.=
If clouds look like they had been scratched by a hen,
Get ready to reef your topsails then.
If the clouds be of different heights, the sky being grayish or dirty
blue, with hardly any wind stirring, the wind, however, changing from
west to south, or sometimes to southeast, without perceptibly increasing
in force, expect storm.
=South Clouds.=
If clouds appear suddenly in the south, expect rain.
=Sunrise.=
If clouds fly to the west at sunrise, expect fine weather.
If at sunrise many clouds are seen in the west, and disappear, expect
fine weather for a short time.
=Strips of Clouds.=
If long strips of clouds drive at a slow rate high in the air, and
gradually become larger, the sky having been previously clear, expect
rain.
=Streamers.=
When streamers point upward, the clouds are falling and rain is at hand.
When streamers point downward, the clouds are ascending and drought is
at hand.
=Salmon Clouds.=
A long strip of clouds called a Salmon, or _Noah’s Ark_, stretching east
and west, is a sign of stormy weather, but when it extends north and
south, it is a sign of dry weather.
North and south the sign of drought,
East and west the sign of blast.
=Tints.=
Light, delicate, quiet tints or colors, with soft, undefined forms of
clouds indicate and accompany fair weather; but unusual or gaudy hues,
with hard definitely outlined clouds, foretell rain, and probably stormy
weather.
=Thin Light Clouds.=
If there be a light-blue sky with thin, light, flying clouds, whilst the
wind goes to the south, without much increase in force, or a dirty blue
sky when no clouds are to be seen, expect storm.
=Tails or Feathers.=
If there be long points, tails, or feathers hanging from thunder or rain
clouds, five or six or more degrees above the horizon, with little wind
in summer, thunder may be expected, but storm will be of short duration.
=Two Currents.=
Two currents of clouds indicate approaching rain, and in summer thunder.
=Thunder.=
Against much rain the clouds grow rapidly larger, especially before
thunder.
=Terraces of Clouds.=
When the clouds rise in terraces of white, soon will the country of the
corn priests be pierced with the arrows of rain. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Variety.=
The different kinds of clouds indicate rain.
=West Clouds.=
When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say there
cometh a shower, and so it is. (Luke xii, 54.)
Brassy-colored clouds in the west at sunset indicate wind.
=White Clouds.=
If on a fair day in winter a white bank of clouds arise in the south,
expect snow.
If small white clouds are seen to collect together, their edges
appearing rough, expect wind.
=Wind.=
If the wind blow between north and east or east, with clouds for some
days, and if clouds be then seen driving from the south high up, rain
will follow plentifully, sometimes forty-eight hours after; if after the
rain the wind goes to the south or southwest, better weather will
follow.
=Yellow Sky.=
A light yellow sky at sunset presages wind.
A pale yellow sky at sunset presages rain.
PROVERBS RELATING TO DEW.
Absence of Dew.
The absence of dew for three days indicates rain.
If nights three dewless there be,
’Twill rain, you’re sure to see.
=Easter.=
The number of dews before Easter will indicate the number of hoar frosts
to occur after Easter, and the number of dews to occur in August.
=Heavy Dew.=
If there is a heavy dew and it soon dries, expect fine weather; if it
remains long on the grass, expect rain in twenty-four hours.
Heavy dew indicates fair weather.
Clouds without dew indicate rain.
If there is a heavy dew it indicates fair weather; no dew indicates
rain.
=Haying Season.=
In haying season, when there is no dew, it indicates rain.
Much dew after a fair day indicates another fair day. A calm and fair
day followed by absence of dew indicates rain.
=Midnight.=
With dew before midnight,
The next day will sure be bright.
=Plentiful Dew.=
If the dew lies on the grass plentifully after a fair day, it indicates
that the following day will be fair. If there is no dew and no wind
after a fair day, rain will follow.
=Southerly Winds.=
A heavy dew in the middle latitudes is said to indicate southerly winds.
A heavy dew with a south to east wind, fair—with a northwest wind, rain.
(New England.)
=Summer Dew.=
During summer a heavy dew is sometimes followed by a southerly wind in
the afternoon.
=Wet Feet.=
If your feet you wet with the dew in the morning, you may keep them dry
for the rest of the day.
PROVERBS RELATING TO FISH.
=General.=
When fish bite readily and swim near the surface, rain may be expected.
Fish become inactive just before thunder showers, silent, and won’t
bite.
Fish bite the least
With wind in the east.
Fishes in general, both in salt and fresh waters, are observed to sport
most and bite more eagerly against rain than at any other time.
=Black-fish.=
Black-fish in schools indicate an approaching gale.
=Blue-fish, pike, etc.=
Blue-fish, pike, and other fish jump with head towards the point where a
storm is frowning.
The approach of blue-fish to the Middle Atlantic coast is a true
indication of a shift of wind to the north within twenty-four or
thirty-six hours. The observer furnishing the above states that he has
not known this saying to have failed once in the past twenty-five years,
and assigns as a reason that in autumn all fish go south, and the
blue-fish, it appears, is able to anticipate this change and approaches
the coast, where it may strike the feed-fish on their way south.
=Clam-Beds.=
Air-bubbles over the clam-beds indicate rain.
Porpoises in harbor indicate coming storm.
=Cat-fish.=
Fish swim up stream, and cat-fish jump out of water before rain.
If the skin on the belly of the cat-fish is unusually thick, it
indicates a cold winter; if not, a mild winter will follow. (Negro.)
=Cockles.=
Cockles and most shell fish are observed against a tempest to have
gravel sticking hard unto their shells, as a providence of nature to
stay or poise themselves, and to help to weigh them down, if raised from
the bottom by surges.
=Cod-fish.=
The cod is said to take in ballast before a storm. It is said by
Sergeant McGillivry, Signal Corps, U. S. A., that there is one instance
of this saying well authenticated, as follows: A number of cod were
taken twelve hours before a severe gale, and it was found that each had
swallowed a number of small stones, some of the stones weighing three or
four ounces.
=Crabs and Lobsters.=
The appearance of crabs and lobsters indicates that spring has come, and
that there will be no more freezing weather. Lake Ontario black bass
leave shoal water before a thunder-storm. This has been observed
twenty-four hours before storm.
=Cuttles.=
Cuttles, with their many legs, swimming on the top of the water and
striving to be above the waves, presage a storm.
=Cuttle-fish.=
Cuttle-fish swimming on the surface of water indicate the approach of
storm.
=Dolphins.=
Dolphins, as well as porpoises, when they come about a ship, and sport
and gambol on the surface of the water, betoken a storm; hence they are
regarded as unlucky omens by sailors.
=Eels.=
If eels are very lively it is a sign of rain.
=Equinox.=
In equinoctial storms fish bite the best before the sun crosses the
line.
=Fish—Flies.=
When fish jump up after flies expect rain.
=Frog-fish.=
Frog-fish crawling indicate rain.
=Lake Trout.=
In the northern lakes of the United States white-fish and lake trout
leave reefs for deep water one month earlier in stormy falls than in
mild, calm falls, with little winds. (Chippewa Indians.)
=Lobsters and Craw-fish.=
When lobsters or craw-fish heighten their holes about the surface of the
ground, it is a sign of approaching rain.
=Moon.=
Fish bite the best when the moon is in the tail.
=Mullet.=
Mullet run south on the approach of cold northerly wind and rain.
=North Wind.=
Fishermen in anger froth
When the wind is in the north;
For fish bite the best
When the wind is in the west.
=Pike.=
When pike lie on the bed of a stream quietly, expect rain or wind.
=Porpoises.=
Porpoises, when they sport about ships and chase one another as if in
play, and indeed their being numerous on the surface of the sea at any
time, is rather a stormy sign. The same may be said of dolphins and
grampus. That the cause of these motions is some electrical change in
the air seems probable. Wilsford, in his Secrets of Nature, tells us
“Porpoises or sea-hogs when observed to sport and chase one another
about ships, expect then some stormy weather.”
Porpoises are said to swim in the direction from which the wind is
coming.
Porpoises run into bays and around islands before a storm.
=Salmon and Trout.=
Salmon and trout plentiful in river (Columbia) show an abundance of rain
in the surrounding country by which the river has risen.
=Sea-urchins.=
Sea-urchins thrusting themselves into the mud, or striving to cover
their bodies with sand, foreshow a storm.
=Shad.=
Shad run south when the weather changes cold.
=Shark.=
Shark go to sea at the approach of a cold wave.
=Skate.=
Skate jump in the direction that the next wind will come from.
=South Wind.=
Wind in the south catch fish in the mouth.
=Trout.=
Trout bite voraciously before rain.
When trout refuse bait or fly,
There ever is a storm nigh.
=Trout and Salmon.=
When the trout or salmon-trout jump late in the fall, the Indians of
Washington Territory predict an open winter and an open spring.
=Trout and Herring.=
Trout jump and herring schools more rapidly before rain.
=Whales and Porpoises.=
When porpoises and whales spout about ships at sea, storm may be
expected.
=Winds.=
The appearance of a great number of fish on the west Gulf coast
indicates bad weather and easterly winds.
PROVERBS RELATING TO FOG OR MIST.
August.
The number of August fogs indicate the number of winter mists.
In the Mississippi Valley, when fogs occur in August, expect fever and
ague in the following fall.
A fog in August indicates a severe winter and plenty of snow.
Observe on what day in August the first heavy fog occurs, and you may
expect a hard frost on the same day in October.
=April Fog.=
Fog in April foretells a failure of the wheat crop next year. (Alabama.)
If the first three days of April be foggy, there will be a flood in
June. (English.)
=Continued Fog.=
If there be continued fog, expect frost.
=Dew.=
When the dew is seen shining on the leaves, the mist rolled down from
the mountain last night. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Damp Fog.=
If there be a damp fog or mist, accompanied by wind, expect rain.
=Fog Clouds.=
When light fog clouds on evenings are observed to rise from the valleys
and hang around the summits of mountains, rain follows.
=February Fog.=
A fog in February indicates a frost in the following May.
=Fog Frost.=
He that would have a bad day must go out in the fog after a frost.
=Frost.=
During frosty weather, the dissolution of mist, and the appearance of
small detached cerro-cumulus clouds in the elevated regions of the
atmosphere are said to foretell that the termination of frost is at
hand.
=Fog and Rain.=
When the fog goes up the hill the rain comes down the mill.
=Fog after Frost.=
Fog after hard frosts and fog after mild weather indicate a change in
weather.
=Falling Fog.=
When the fog falls fair weather follows; when it rises rain follows.
=Heavy Fog.=
Heavy fog in winter, when it hangs below trees, is followed by rain.
=Hunting and Fishing.=
When the fog goes up the mountains you may go hunting; when it comes
down the mountain you may go fishing. In the former case it will be
fair; in the latter it will rain.
=Light Fog.=
Light fog passing under sun from south to north in the morning indicates
rain in twenty-four or forty-eight hours.
=March, May, and August.=
So many mists in March we see,
So many frosts in May shall be;
So many fogs in August we see,
So many snows that year will be.
=Mirage.=
A mirage is followed by a rain. (New England.)
=Mist—Sea.=
When the mist takes to the sea
Then good weather it will be.
(English.)
=Misty Mornings.=
Three foggy or misty mornings indicate rain. (Oregon.)
=Morning Fogs.=
When a morning fog turns into clouds of different layers, the clouds
increasing in size, expect a rain.
=Mountain Mist.=
When mountains extend north and south, if fog or mist comes from the
west, expect fair weather. If mist comes from the top of mountains,
expect rain in summer, snow in winter. (Apache Indians.)
=October Fog.=
For every fog in October there will be a snow during the winter; for
each heavy fog a heavy snow, and for each light fog a light snow.
=Rising Fog.=
A rising fog indicates fair weather. If the fog settles down, expect
stormy weather.
=Seaward and Landward.=
Fog from seaward, fair weather; fog from landward, rain. (New England.)
=Summer Fog.=
A summer fog is a good indication of fair weather.
=Southerly Wind.=
In summer, when fog comes with a southerly wind it indicates warm
weather; when it comes with a northerly wind it is a sign of heavy rain.
=Weather.=
When the mist is on the hill,
Then good weather it doth spoil.
=Winter Fog.=
A winter’s fog will freeze a dog.
PROVERBS RELATING TO FROST.
Bearded—Frost.
Bearded frost is a forerunner of snow.
=Birds of Passage.=
If birds of passage arrive early from the north, expect frost.
=Corn Frost.=
With the coming of frost grows the corn old. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Dark-moon Frost.=
Frost occurring in the dark of the moon kills fruit, buds, and blossoms;
but frost in the light of the moon will not.
=Early Frosts.=
Early frosts are generally followed by a long and hard winter. Light or
white frosts are always followed by wet weather, either the same day or
three days after.
=Easter Frost.=
Past the Easter frost and fruit is safe.
=Fences, Trees.=
In winter if the fences and trees are covered with white frost, expect a
thaw.
=Frosty Trees.=
If the trees are frosty and the sun takes it away before noon, sign of
rain.
=First Katydid.=
The first frost of the season occurs six weeks after we hear the first
katydid.
=Frosts.=
Heavy white frost indicates warmer weather.
Black frost indicates dry cold weather.
Bearded frost indicates colder weather and snow.
=Frost, Rain.=
Hoar frost indicates rain.
=Foul Weather.=
Frosts end in foul weather.
=First Frost.=
If the first frost occurs late, the following winter will be mild, but
weather variable. If first frost occurs early, it indicates a severe
winter.
=Gray Sky.=
If there be a dark, gray sky, with a south wind, expect frost.
=Heavy Frosts.=
Heavy frosts are generally followed by fine, clear weather.
=Hoar Frost.=
If there be an abundance of hoar frost, expect rain.
=Ice.=
If the ice crack much, expect frost to continue.
=June Frosts.=
There will be as many frosts in June as there are fogs in February.
=Moonlight.=
Moonlight nights have the hardest frosts.
=Mist.=
When the mist is on the hill,
Then good weather it doth spoil;
When the mist takes to the sea,
Then good weather it will be.
(England.)
=Rain, Frosts.=
Heavy frosts bring heavy rains; no frosts, no rain. (California.)
=Six Months.=
Six months from last frost to next frost. (South.)
=Spider Webs.=
Spider webs floating at autumn sunset,
Bring a night frost, this you may bet.
=Three Frosts=
Three frosts in succession are a sign of rain.
Three white frosts and then a storm.
=White Frost.=
A very heavy white frost in winter is followed by a thaw.
White frost on three successive nights indicates a thaw or rain.
=Water Snakes.=
When small water snakes leave the sand in low damp lands, frosts may be
expected in three days. (Apache Indians.)
=Wind, Northwest.=
Frost will probably occur when the temperature is 40° and the wind
northwest.
A high wind prevents frost.
PROVERBS RELATING TO INSECTS.
Ants.
If ants their walls do frequent build,
Rain will from the clouds be spilled.
When ants are situated in low ground, their migration may be taken as an
indication of approaching heavy rains.
Expect stormy weather when ants travel in lines, and fair weather when
they scatter.
If in the beginning of July the ants are enlarging and building up their
piles, an early and cold winter is at hand.
An open ant-hole indicates clear weather; a closed one an approaching
storm.
=Ants, Crickets, Gnats, etc.=
Ants are very busy; gnats bite; crickets are lively; spiders come out of
their nests, and flies gather in houses just before rain.
=Butterflies.=
The early appearance of butterflies is said to indicate fine weather.
When the white butterfly flies from the southwest, expect rain.
When the butterfly comes, comes also the summer. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Bees.=
When bees remain in their hives or fly but a short distance, expect
rain.
Bees early at work will not perform a full day’s work.
Bees will not swarm before a near storm.
Bees returning hastily and in large numbers are said to indicate
approaching rain, although the weather may be clear.
When bees to distance wing their flight
Days are warm and skies are bright;
But when their flight ends near their home
Stormy weather is sure to come.
A bee was never caught in a shower.
If bees remain in the hive or fly but a short distance from it, expect
rain.
=Black Insects.=
When little black insects appear on the snow, expect a thaw.
=Cockroaches.=
When cockroaches fly it is a sign of approaching rain.
=Crickets.=
If the cricket sing louder than usual, expect rain.
=Chrysalides.=
When the chrysalides are found suspended from the under side of rails,
limbs, &c., as if to protect them from rain, expect much rain. If they
are found on slender branches, fair weather will last some time.
(Western Pennsylvania.)
=Fleas.=
When fleas do very many grow,
Then ’twill surely rain or snow.
When eager bites the thirsty flea,
Clouds and rain you sure shall see.
=Flies.=
A fly on your nose you slap and it goes,
If it comes back again it will bring a good rain.
When flies congregate in swarms, rain follows soon.
When flies bite greedily, expect rain.
=Fall-bugs.=
Fall-bugs begin to chirp six weeks before a frost in the fall.
=Fire-flies.=
Fire flies in great numbers indicate fair weather.
=Garden Spiders.=
If the garden spiders break and destroy their webs and creep away,
expect continued rain.
=Glow-worms.=
Before rain:
Glow-worms numerous, clear, and bright,
Illuminate the dewy hills at night.
When the glow-worm glows, dry hot weather follows.
=Gossamer.=
Gossamer (the fine web of a certain species of spider) is said when
abundant in the air to afford a sign of a fine autumn.
=Gnats.=
Gnats flying in a vortex in the beams of the sun, fair weather will
follow; when they frisk about more wildly increasing heat is indicated;
when they seek the shade and bite more frequently, the signs are of
coming rain.
Gnats in October are a sign of long, fair weather.
Many gnats in spring indicate that the autumn will be warm.
If gnats fly in large numbers, the weather will be fine.
If gnats, flies, &c., bite sharper than usual, expect rain.
When gnats dance in February the husbandman becomes a beggar.
If gnats fly in compact bodies in the beams of the setting sun, expect
fine weather.
If many gnats are seen in the spring, expect a warm autumn.
When gnats dance in March it brings death to sheep. (Dutch.)
=Hornets.=
Hornets build nests high before warm summers.
When hornets build their nests near the ground, expect a cold and early
winter.
=House Flies.=
House flies coming into the house in great numbers indicate rain.
=Harvest Flies.=
When harvest flies sing, warm weather will follow.
=Insects.=
The early appearance of insects indicate an early spring and good crops.
(Apache Indians.)
Insects flying in numbers just at evening show change of weather to
rain.
=Katydids.=
Katydids cry three months before frosts. (South.)
=Locusts.=
When locusts are heard, dry weather will follow, and frost will occur in
six weeks.
=Spider Webs.=
When spiders’ webs in air do fly
The spell will soon be very dry.
Spider webs scattered thickly over a field covered with dew glistening
in the morning sun indicate rain.
When spiders work at their webs in the morning expect a fair day.
Spiders strengthening their webs indicate rain.
Long single, separate spider webs on grass is a sign of frost next
night. (Irish.)
Spiders in motion indicate rain.
If spiders break off and remove their webs, the weather will be wet.
If spiders make new webs and ants build new hills, the weather will be
clear.
If the spider works during rain, it is an indication that the weather
will soon be clear.
When the spider cleans its web fair weather is indicated.
If spider webs fly in the autumn with a south wind, expect east winds
and fine weather.
Spiders generally change their webs once every twenty-four hours. If
they make the change between 6 and 7 p. m., expect a fair night. If they
change their web in the morning, a fine day may be expected. If they
work during rain, expect fine weather soon, and the more active and busy
the spider the finer will be the weather.
Spiders, when they are seen crawling on the walls more than usual
indicate that rain will probably ensue. This prognostic seldom fails.
This has been observed for many years, particularly in winter, but more
or less at all times of the year.
If spiders in spinning their webs make the terminating filaments long,
we may in proportion to their lengths expect rain.
When you see the ground covered with spider webs which are wet with dew,
and there is no dew on the ground, it is a sign of rain before night,
for the spiders are putting up umbrellas; but others say when the
spiders put out their sunshades it will be a hot day.
=Scorpions.=
When scorpions crawl expect dry weather.
=Tarantulas.=
When tarantulas crawl by day, rain will surely come. (California.)
=Wasps.=
Wasps building nests in exposed places indicate a dry season.
Wasps in great numbers and busy indicate fair and warm weather.
=Wood-lice.=
If wood-lice run about in great numbers, expect rain.
=Worms, Snails, etc.=
Worms come forth more abundantly before rain, as do snails, slugs, and
almost all our limaceous reptiles.
=Yellow Jackets.=
Yellow jackets building nests on top of ground indicates an approaching
dry season.
PROVERBS RELATING TO THE MOON.
April Full Moon.
Full moon in April brings frost.
=A Saturday’s Moon.=
If it comes once in seven years, comes all too soon.
=Bean.=
Go plant the bean when the moon is light,
And you will find that this is right;
Plant the potatoes when the moon is dark,
And to this line you always hark;
But if you vary from this rule,
You will find you are a fool;
If you always follow this rule to the end
You will always have money to spend.
=Beans.=
Plant garden beans when the sign is in the scales they will hang full.
=Cloudy Morning.=
In the old of the moon a cloudy morning bodes a fair afternoon.
=Cool Weather.=
When the moon runs high expect cool or cold weather.
New moon far in north in summer, cool weather; in winter, cold.
=Change.=
If the moon changes (full or new) in fair or warm part of the day, it
indicates a warm moon, and if it changes in the cool part of the day, it
indicates that the weather will be cool during the moon.
If the moon is rainy throughout, it will be clear at the change, and
perhaps the rain will return a few days after.
If there be a change of weather at the time of the quarters (under the
same conditions as above), the new condition will probably last some
time.
=Drought—Flood.=
The further the moon is to the south the greater the drought; the
further west the greater the flood, and the further northwest the
greater the cold.
=Dry Weather.=
When the horns of the moon are sharp it indicates dry weather.
New moon far in the south indicates dry weather for a month.
=Dry Moon.=
A dry moon is far north and soon seen.
=Day Moon.=
When the moon is visible in the day-time, the days are relatively cool.
=East Wind.=
If the moon changes with the wind in the east, the weather during that
moon will be foul.
=Fifth Day of Moon.=
The fifth day of the new moon indicates the general character of the
weather until the full of the moon.
=Full Moon.=
In Western Kansas it is said that when the moon is near full it never
storms.
The full moon eats clouds. (Nautical.)
=Fair Moon.=
If the moon be fair throughout and rain at the close, the fair weather
will probably return on the fourth or fifth day.
=Fair Weather.=
Phases of the moon occurring in the evening, expect fair weather.
=Five Changes.=
Five changes of the moon in one month denotes cool weather in summer and
cold in winter.
=Flood.=
Two full moons in a calendar month bring on a flood.
=Fine Weather.=
If the full moon rises clear, expect fine weather.
=Gale Moon.=
If the moon is seen between the scud and broken clouds during a gale, it
is expected to scuff away the bad weather.
=Halo.=
The larger the halo about the moon the nearer the rain clouds and the
sooner the rain may be expected.
A lunar halo indicates rain, and the number of stars inclosed, the
number of days of rain.
The moon with a circle brings water in her beak.
=Horns of Moon.=
When Luna first her scattered fear recalls,
If with blunt horns she holds the dusky air,
Seamen and swain predict abundant showers.
(Virgil.)
=Moon-shield.=
If the moon show a silver shield,
Be not afraid to reap your field;
But if she rises halved round,
Soon will tread on deluged ground.
=Moon-ring.=
Last night the moon had a golden ring,
But to-night no moon I see.
=Moon, Wind clouds, etc.=
When first the moon appears if then she shrouds
Her silver crescent, tipped with sable clouds,
Conclude she bodes a tempest on the main,
And brews for fields impetuous floods of rain.
Or if her face with fiery flushings glow,
Expect the rattling wind aloft to blow;
But four nights old (for that is the best sign),
With sharpened horns, if glorious then she shine,
Next day not only that, but all the moon,
Till her revolving race be wholly run,
Are void of tempests both by land and sea.
=Moon Halo.=
A large ring around the moon and low clouds indicate rain in twenty-four
hours; a small ring and high clouds rain in several days.
=Moon, Points of.=
If the new moon appears with the points of the crescent turned up, the
month will be dry. If the points are turned down, it will be wet.
NOTE.—About one-third of the sailors believe in the direct opposite of
the above. The belief is explained as follows: 1st. If the crescent will
hold water, the month will be dry; if not, it will be wet. 2d. If the
Indian hunter could hang his powder-horn on the crescent, he did so and
staid at home, because he knew that the woods would be too dry to still
hunt. If he could not hang his powder-horn upon the crescent he put it
on his shoulder and went hunting, because he knew that the woods would
be wet and that he could stalk game noiselessly.
=Mist.=
If there be a general mist before sunrise near the full of the moon, the
weather will be fine for some days.
=New Moon.=
New moon on its back indicates wind; standing on its point indicates
rain in summer and snow in winter. (Dr. John Menual.)
=North Wind.=
A new moon with a north wind will hold until the full.
=North and South Moon.=
If the new moon is far north, it will be cold for two weeks, but if far
south, it will be warm.
=October Moon.=
Full moon in October without frost, no frost till full moon in November.
=Old Moon.=
In the old of the moon
A cloudy morning means a fair afternoon.
The old moon seen in the new moon’s arms is a sign of fair weather.
If the new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter occur between
Summer: 12 and 2 a. m. Fair.
2 and 4 a. m. Cold and showers.
4 and 6 a. m. Rain.
6 and 8 a. m. Wind and rain.
8 and 10 a. m. Changeable.
10 and 12 p. m. Frequent showers.
12 and 2 p. m. Very rainy.
2 and 4 p. m. Changeable.
4 and 6 p. m. Fair.
6 and 8 p. m. Fair, if wind northwest.
8 and 10 p. m. Rainy, if wind south or southwest.
10 and 12 a. m. Fair.
Winter: 12 and 2 a. m. Frost, unless wind southwest.
2 and 4 a. m. Snow and stormy.
4 and 6 a. m. Rain.
6 and 8 a. m. Stormy.
8 and 10 a. m. Cold rain, if wind west.
10 and 12 p. m. Cold and high wind.
12 and 2 p. m. Snow and rain.
2 and 4 p. m. Fair and mild.
4 and 6 p. m. Fair.
6 and 8 p. m. Fair and frosty, if wind northeast
or north.
8 and 10 p. m. Rain or snow, if wind south or
southwest.
10 and 12 a. m. Fair and frosty.
=Points of Moon.=
If the points of a new moon are up, then, as a rule, no rain will fall
that quarter of the moon; a dull pale moon, dry, with halo, indicates
poor crops. In the planting season no grain must be planted when halo is
around the moon. (Apache Indians.)
=Pale rise.=
If the full moon rise pale, expect rain.
=Rheumatic diseases.=
Therefore the moon, the governor of the floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air
That rheumatic diseases do abound.
(Shakespeare.)
=Red, Dim, or Pale Moon.=
A dim or pale moon indicates rain, a red moon indicates wind.
The moon, her face if red be,
Of water speaks she.
(Zuñi Indians.)
If the full moon rises red, expect wind.
When the moon rises red and appears large, with clouds, expect rain in
twelve hours.
=Rain.=
When the moon is darkest near the horizon, expect rain.
When phases of the moon occur in the morning, expect rain.
If the moon turns on its back in the third quarter it is a sign of rain.
The moon, if in house be, cloud it will, rain soon will come. (Zuñi
Indians.)
=Ruddy.=
If on her cheeks you see the maiden’s blush,
The ruddy moon foreshows the winds will rush.
=South Moon.=
A south moon indicates bad weather.
=Snow.=
As many days old as the moon is at the first snow there will be as many
snows before crop-planting time.
Snow coming two or three days after new moon will remain on the ground
some time, but that falling just after full moon will soon go off.
There will be as many snow storms during the winter as the moon is days
old at the first snow-storm.
=Stars in Halo.=
Moon in a circle indicates storm, and number of stars in circle the
number of days before storm.
=Sixth Day of Moon.=
If the weather on the sixth day is the same as that of the fourth day of
the moon the same weather will continue during the whole moon. Said to
be correct nine times out of twelve. (Spanish.)
=Storm.=
The rising or the setting of the sun or moon, especially the moon, will
be followed by a decrease of a storm which is then prevailing.
=Saturday Moon.=
A Saturday moon, if it comes once in seven years, it comes too soon. A
Friday’s moon, come when it will, comes too soon.
=Saturday Change.=
One Saturday change in the moon is enough, as it is always followed by a
severe storm.
=Stormy, Wet Weather.=
If there be a change from continued stormy or wet to clear and dry
weather at the time of a new or full moon, and so remains until the
second day of the new or full moon, it will probably remain fine till
the following quarter; and if it changes not then, or only for a short
time, it usually lasts until the following new or full moon; and if it
does not change then, or only for a very short time, it will probably
remain fine and dry for four or five weeks.
=Threatening Clouds.=
Threatening clouds, without rain, in old moon indicate drought.
=Thursday.=
Thursday before the moon changes rules the moon.
=Way to Wane.=
The three days of the change of the moon from the way to the wane we get
no rain.
=Warm Weather.=
When the moon runs low, expect warm weather.
=Warm and Cold Weather.=
If the moon changes in the morning, it indicates warm weather; if in the
evening, cold weather.
A change in the moon which occurs between sunrise and sunset will be
followed by warm weather; when the change occurs between sunset and
sunrise, it will be followed by cold weather.
PROVERBS RELATING TO PLANTS.
Ash Leaves.
When the ash leaves come out before the oak, expect a wet season.
=African Marigold.=
If this plant does not open its petals by 7 o’clock in the morning, it
will rain or thunder that day. It also closes before a storm.
=Aspen Leaf.=
Trembling of the aspen leaf in calm weather indicates an approaching
storm.
=Berries.=
When the bushes are full of berries, a hard winter is on the way.
When berries are plentiful in the hedge, on the May-bush, and
blackthorn, a hard winter may be expected.
Berries in the hedges often forebode a hard winter, and severe weather
frequently occurs in seasons when they are particularly plentiful on the
May-bush and blackthorn. This rule is not, however, without its
exception. But, at all events, peculiarities of the seasons have a
wonderful influence on the quantities of berries, particularly those of
holly. The peculiarities of the seasons and their influence on plants
constitute a very curious subject of research; it comprehends the whole
doctrine of special blights, whereby only certain tribes of plants are
affected. Epidemics and epizoötics come under the same class, and are
referable to specific conditions of the atmosphere.
=Beech-nuts.=
When beech-nuts are plenty, expect a mild winter.
=Beans.=
Be it weal or be it woe,
Beans must blow ere May doth go.
=Convolvulus.=
The convolvulus folds up its petals at the approach of rain.
=Cherries.=
As long as the cherries bloom in April it is said that the grape-vine
will be in bloom.
=Chickweed.=
The flowers of the chickweed contract before rain.
The chickweed, at 9 o’clock in the morning, if the weather is clear,
straightens its flowers, spreads its leaves, and keeps awake until noon.
If, however, there is rain in prospect, the plant droops and its flowers
do not open.
=Corn-husk.=
A double husk on corn indicates a severe winter.
Ears of corn are covered with thicker and stronger husks in cold
winters.
If corn is hard to husk, expect a hard winter. (Apache Indians).
=Cockle-burs.=
When cockle-burs mature brown it indicates frost.
=Clover Leaves.=
Clover leaves turned up so as to show light underside indicate
approaching rain.
Clovers contract at the close of a storm.
=Cottonwood—Quaking Asp.=
Cottonwood and quaking asp trees turn up their leaves before rain.
=Corn-fodder.=
Corn-fodder dry and crisp indicates fair weather; but damp and limp,
rain—very sensitive to hygrometric changes.
=Dandelions.=
The dandelions close their blossoms before a storm; the sensitive plant
its leaves. The leaves of the May trees bear up so that the under side
may be seen before a storm.
=Dandelion and Daisy.=
The flowers of the dandelion and daisy close before rain.
=Dogwood Blossoms.=
When the blooms of the dogwood tree are full, expect a cold winter. When
blooms of same are light, expect a warm winter.
Frost will not occur after the dogwood blossoms.
=Dead Nettles.=
Dead nettles blow early and all the year; the red or purple kind are
scarce all winter. They afford a sign of a mild season when they come in
winter in abundance.
=Early Blossoms.=
Early blossoms indicate a bad fruit year.
=Flowers.=
When the perfume of flowers is unusually perceptible, rain may be
expected.
=Fox-fire.=
Fox-fire seen at night indicates cold.
=Frost—Cockle.=
Frost has never been known to catch the cockle or blackberry in bloom.
=Fennel.=
When fennel blooms, frost follows.
=Fall Apples.=
If the fall apples are one-sided, with thick, rough skins, a severe
winter may be expected.
=Grasses.=
Grasses of all kinds are loaded with seeds before a severe winter.
=Goat’s-beard.=
When goat’s-beard closes its petals at midday, expect rain.
=Hay.=
Better it is to rise betimes
And make hay while the sun shines,
Than to believe in tales and lies
Which idle monks and friars devise.
(Robins’s Almanac.)
=Hog-thistle.=
If the hog-thistle closes for the night, expect fair weather; if it
remains open, expect rain.
=Jonquils.=
Jonquils, of which there are several sorts, blow in the open ground in
March and April. The great jonquil and the odorous jonquil blow about
the middle of March, the lesser or proper jonquil somewhat later. When
they blow well and early they forebode a fine season.
=Leaves.=
If in the fall of the leaves in October many of them wither and hang on
the boughs, it betokens a frosty winter and much snow.
If the leaves are slow to fall, expect a cold winter.
If the falling leaves remain under the trees and are not blown away by
the wind, expect a fruitful year to follow.
When leaves of trees are thick, expect a cold winter.
=Late Blossoms.=
Late blossoms indicate a good fruit year.
=Marigold.=
The marigold opens between 6 and 7 in the morning and generally keeps
awake until 4 in the afternoon. In such cases the weather will be
steady. If, on the other hand, it does not open by 7 o’clock in the
morning, you may expect rain that day.
=Milk-weed.=
Milk-weed closing at night indicates rain.
=Mountain Moss.=
When the mountain moss is soft and limpid, expect rain.
When mountain moss is dry and brittle, expect clear weather.
=March Flowers.=
“March flowers make no summer bowers,” because if the spring is very
mild, vegetation becomes too far advanced and is liable to injury from
frost.
=Mushrooms.=
When mushrooms spring up during the night, expect rain.
Mushrooms and toad-stools are numerous before rain.
=Nuts.=
Nuts with a thick covering denote a hard winter.
=Onion-skins.=
Onion-skins very thin,
Mild winter coming in;
Onion-skins thick and tough,
Coming winter cold and rough.
=Pitcher-plant.=
The pitcher-plant opens its mouth before rain.
=Pimpernel.=
When this plant is seen in the morning with its little red flowers
widely extended, we may generally expect a fine day; on the contrary,
when the petals are closed, rain will soon follow. This plant has been
styled the poor man’s weather-glass.
=Red Sandwort.=
When the corona of red sandwort contracts, expect rain.
=Sensitive Brier.=
The sensitive brier closes up its leaves on the approach of rain.
=Sycamore.=
Sycamore tree peeling off white in the fall, indicates a cold winter.
=Sunflower.=
Sunflower raising its head indicates rain.
=Scotch Pimpernel.=
When the corona, the Scotch pimpernel, contracts, expect rain.
=Speedwell.=
When the corona of the speedwell, and stitchwort contracts, expect rain.
=Sea-weed.=
Sea-weed becomes damp and expands before wet weather.
=Sea Grape.=
In the West Indies and along the coast of Florida there grows a small
fruit-bearing tree called the sea grape, which when its fruit is
abundant and ripens early it is said by the Seminole Indians and natives
of the Bahama Islands to be a sign that there will be a hurricane before
the end of the season. The usual time of ripening of this fruit is
during September, and the hurricane season extends from the first of
August till the end of October.
=Silver Maple.=
The silver maple shows the lining of its leaf before a storm.
=Sea-weed.=
A piece of kelp or sea-weed hung up will become damp previous to rain.
Tulips and dandelions close just before rain.
=Trefoil.=
If the trefoil contracts its leaves, expect heavy rains.
=Tree Limbs.=
When tree limbs break off during calm expect rain.
=Tree Moss.=
North side of trees covered with moss indicates cold weather.
=Trees.=
Trees grow dark before a storm.
=Tree Leaves.=
When the leaves of trees curl, with the wind from the south, it
indicates rain.
=Wild Indigo.=
Just before rain or heavy dew the wild indigo closes or folds its
leaves.
=Wheat.=
For wheat a peck of dust in
March is worth a king’s ransom;
Or wet and soddy, the land
Must go to oats and corn.
PROVERBS RELATING TO RAIN.
Clearness.
Unusual clearness in the atmosphere, objects being seen very distinctly,
indicates rain.
=Evening and Morning.=
Evening red and morning gray
Are sure signs of a fine day.
Evening gray and morning red,
Put on your hat or you’ll wet your head.
=Electricity.=
Increasing atmospheric electricity oxidizes ammonia in the air and forms
nitric acid, which affects milk, thus accounting for souring of milk by
thunder.
=Hours of Commencing.=
If rain commences before daylight, it will hold up before 8 a. m.; if it
begins about noon, it will continue through the afternoon; if it
commences after 9 p. m., it will rain the next day; if it clears off in
the night, it will rain the next day; if the wind is from the northwest
or southwest, the storm will be short; if from the northeast, it will be
a hard one; if from the northwest, a cold one, and from the southwest a
warm one.
If rain ceases after 12 m., it will rain next day.
If rain ceases before 12 m., it will be clear next day.
=Morning Rain.=
If rain commences before day, it will stop before 8 a. m.; if it begins
about noon, it will continue through the afternoon; if not till 5 p. m.,
it will rain through the night; if it clears off in the night, it will
rain the next day.
If it rains before seven,
It will clear before eleven.
If rain begins at early morning light,
’Twill end ere day at noon is bright.
=North Rain.=
With the north rain leaves the harvest.
=Northeast Rain.=
With the rain of the northeast comes the ice fruit (hail). (Zuñi
Indians.)
Rain from the northeast (in Germany region of dry winds) continues three
days.
=Notice.=
Rain long foretold, long last;
Short notice, soon past.
=October and November.=
Plenty of rain in October and November on the North Pacific coast
indicates a mild winter; little rain in these months will be followed by
a severe winter.
=Scalp-Locks.=
When the locks of the Navajoes turn damp in the scalp-house, surely it
will rain.
=South Thunder.=
Rain with south or southwest thunder, squalls occur late each successive
day.
=South Rain.=
Rain from the south prevents the drought, but rain from the west is
always best.
South winds bring rain. (California.)
The south rain brings with it the beautiful odors of the land of
everlasting summer and brightens the leaves of growing things. (Zuñi
Indians.)
Rain which sets in with a south wind on the north Pacific coast will
probably last.
=September Rain.=
Rain in September is good for the farmer, but poison to the vine
growers. (German.)
=Seven and Eleven.=
If it rains before seven,
It will cease before eleven.
=Sunrise.=
If it rains before sunrise, expect a fair afternoon.
=Sunshiny Rain.=
If it rains when the sun shines, it will rain the next day.
=Swallows and Crickets.=
Rain is indicated when—
Low o’er the grass the swallows wing,
And crickets, too, how sharp they sing.
=September.=
Heavy September rains bring drought.
=Squalls.=
When rain-squalls break to the westward, it is a sign of foul weather.
When they break to leeward, it is a sign of fair weather. (Northeast
coast.)