More Weather Folklore Stories

"Clear Moon...Frost Soon..."

"Clear Moon...Frost Soon..."

When the air is the absolute clearest, it is the easiest for the Earth to cool by means of 'Radiational Cooling'. Just as you are able to feel the heat radiating form someone next to you, so too the Earth radiates energy all the time... Read more »

"Red Sky At Night...Sailor's Delight..."

"Red Sky At Night...Sailor's Delight..."

This bit of folklore is most often useful when over the open water, where one can see very large distances into the horizon in all directions (especially toward sunrise and sunset)... Read more »

"Mare's Tails and Mackerel Scales..."

"Mare's Tails and Mackerel Scales..."

The 'Mare's Tail' in this weather proverb refers to 'cirrus' clouds in the sky, and the 'Mackerel Scales' or 'Mackerel Sky' refers to 'cirrocumulus' clouds. The cirrocumulus clouds are a bit more distinct, and seem rarer because... Read more »

"Sea Gull, Sea Gull, Sit on the Sand; A Sign of Rain When You're at Hand..."

"Sea Gull, Sea Gull, Sit on the Sand; A Sign of Rain When You're at Hand..."

Animals (especially birds) are more succeptible to changes in air pressure than humans. As a result, some get more squawky and fidgety with an advancing change in pressure (most often a storm arrival). Others, like sea gulls... Read more »

"When the Wind's in the South, There's Rain in its Mouth..."

"When the Wind's in the South, There's Rain in its Mouth..."

This one is often useful in the eastern United States, but in other locations across the globe, it's utterly useless. This takes into account a prevailing wind pattern that happens to constantly come... Read more »

"Swallows Fly Low, Get Your Rain Gear in Tow..."

"Swallows Fly Low, Get Your Rain Gear in Tow..."

This is another folklore saying related to high and low pressure. Air pressure naturally decreases with altitude, and rapidly at that when close to the ground. Birds try to fly high (especially when migrating)... Read more »

"When the Stars Seem to Huddle, the Earth May Soon Start to Puddle..."

"When the Stars Seem to Huddle, the Earth May Soon Start to Puddle..."

At night, when clouds are on the way, much of the sky's stars would be hidden by approaching clouds. The stars that remain unclouded often appear to be 'huddled together'... Read more »

"When the Ditch Offends the Nose, Look for Rain and Stormy Blows..."

"When the Ditch Offends the Nose, Look for Rain and Stormy Blows..."

Another high/low pressure weather proverb. High pressure again is associated with sinking air, and keeping things low to the ground. In previous examples, this would be air particles and bugs... Read more »

"Cow's Tail to the East Make's the Weather Least..."

"Cow's Tail to the East Make's the Weather Least..."

This saying is purely New England, and has a lot of truth to it. Most grazing animals do so with their tails to the wind. This really has less to do with the tail, and more with the head... Read more »

"A Year of Snow...A Year of Plenty..."

"A Year of Snow...A Year of Plenty..."

If there is a snow season in which there is a lot of snow, the prolonged snowcover actually insulates the ground (often digging 'into' the snow is a means of survival for those trapped outdoors)... Read more »

"Halo Around the Sun or Moon, Rain or Snow is Coming Soon..."

"Halo Around the Sun or Moon, Rain or Snow is Coming Soon..."

This is similar to the Mackerel Sky, except in this situation, the high cirrus clouds are made of ice crystals. These ice crystals reflect the sunlight, and can create a halo around the Sun (or moon)... Read more »

Weather

Icon
Current Temp 33.0 °F
Fair
Wind : Calm
Humidity : 97 %
Pressure : 1021.7 mb
More Weather

Weather

More Weather

On Demand

Stock Quotes

WHYN NewsTalk 560
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.