Understanding the Weather (_ 425 



In our grandparents' time people relied on various signs for 

 hints of coming weather. Some of these signs we still believe in 

 on the whole, with good reason, as they often have scientific back- 

 ing. Others are wholly unreliable and have no such backing; 

 where they "work," the effect is wholly coincidental and cannot 

 serve as a basis for further prediction. 



RING AROUND THE MOON 



Perhaps you have heard that "a ring around the moon 

 means rain." This old belief is accurate enough rain often follows 

 the appearance of a moon halo. The big question and it is sure 

 to come is why. The ring indicates that the moonlight is re- 

 fracted (bent) by ice particles in clouds that are miles overhead. 

 Those ice particles warn us of a change of temperature, and thus 

 of a probable change in weather. 



THE RAINBOW HAS PRACTICAL VALUE 



"Rainbow at night, sailors' delight; rainbow in the morn- 

 ing, sailors take warning," is another fairly accurate saying. Rain- 

 bows are formed when raindrops in the air break up the sunlight 

 into distinct colors. This takes place in the part of the sky opposite 

 the sun. When you see a rainbow in the late afternoon sky, you 

 know that the moisture causing it is to the east. Why? Because the 

 rainbow must be opposite the sun, which is now in the west. 



Now add to this the pertinent bit of information that our 

 storms usually move from west to east; you can see that the mois- 

 ture (a potential storm) , being already in the east, has passed us. 

 But, by the same reasoning, a morning rainbow (in the west while 

 the sun is in the east) means that there is a large amount of 

 moisture in the west. As this comes toward us, it is likely to arrive 

 as a storm. 



NIGHT RAINS 



"Rain before seven, shine before eleven," is likely to prove 

 a dependable forecast if the rain is light or moderate. Rain usually 

 lasts only a few hours; and when it starts in the cooler hours of 



