WEATHER PROVERBS 



FROM earliest times to foretell the 

 weather has had for all peoples of 

 all degrees of culture an extreme 

 fascination. The direction of the winds, 

 the character of the clouds, the actions of 

 insects and animals, etc. , have served to 

 foreshadow the coming weather. Every 

 people and nearly every locality has its 

 peculiar weather proverbs, many of 

 which have been handed down for many 

 generations. The modern science of 

 meteorolog) 7 has found that many of 

 these ancient popular sayings are true 

 enough, though many again are ridicu- 

 lous. Prof. E. B. Garriott, of the U. S. 

 Weather Bureau, has recently completed 

 a careful selection of such weather 

 proverbs as may be termed in the main 

 correct for the United States, and the 

 collection has been published by the 

 Weather Bureau.* From this interest- 

 ing collection the following sayings are 

 taken : 



Every wind has its weather. — Bacon. 

 When the wind is in the north, 

 The skillful fisher goes not forth ; 

 When the wind is in the east, 

 'Tis good for neither man nor beast ; 

 When the wind is in the south, 

 It blows the flies in the fish's mouth ; 

 When the wind is in the west, 

 There it is the very best. — Isaak Walton. 



Clouds are the storm signals of the sky. 



Rapid .changes in the barometer indicate 

 early and marked changes in the weather. 



A sudden rise in the barometer is very nearly 

 as dangerous as a sudden fall, because it shows 

 the level is unsteady. In an ordinary gale the 

 wind often blows hardest when the barometer 

 is just beginning to rise, directly after having 

 been very low. 



When the glass falls low, 



Prepare for a blow ; 



When it rises high, 



Let all your kites fly. — Nautical. 



Men work better, eat more, and sleep sounder 

 when the barometer is high. 



Do business with men when the wind is from 

 the westerly ; for then the barometer is high. 



Sailors note the tightening of the cordage 

 on ships as a sign of coming rain. 



When rheumatic people complain of more 

 than ordinary pains, it will probably rain. 



* Weather Folklore and Local Weather Signs; 

 Bulletin No. 33. By E. B. Garriott, Professor 

 of Meteorology. Prepared under the direc- 

 tion of Willis L. Moore, Chief U. S. Weather 

 Bureau. Washington : Government Printing 

 Office, 1903. #0.35. 



When the perfume of flowers is unusually 

 perceptible, rain ma) 7 be expected. 



Rainbow in morning, shepherds take warning; 

 Rainbow at night, shepherds delight. 



Human hair (red) curls and kinks at the ap- 

 proach of a storm and restraightens after the 

 storm. 



Cats have the reputation of being weather- 

 wise, an old notion that has given rise to a 

 most extensive folklore. It is almost univer- 

 sally believed that good weather may be ex- 

 pected 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. 



All shepherds agree in saying that before a 

 storm comes sheep become frisky, leap, and 

 butt or ' ' box ' ' each other. 



When the voices of blackbirds are unusually 

 shrill, or when blackbirds sing much in the 

 morning, rain will follow. 



Robbins will perch on the topmost branches 

 of trees and whistle when a storm is approach- 

 ing. 



A bee was never caught in a shower. 



Expect stormy weather when ants travel in 

 lines and fair weather when they scatter. 



Ants are very busy, gnats bite, crickets are 

 lively, spiders come out of their nests, and flies 

 gather in houses just before rain. 



When you see the ground covered with spi- 

 der webs which are wet with dew and there is 

 no dew on the ground, it is a sign of rain be- 

 fore night, for the spiders are putting up um- 

 brellas ; but others say when the spiders put 

 out their sunshades it will be a hot day. 



Corn fodder dry and crisp indicates fair 

 weather ; but damp and limp, rain. It is very 

 sensitive to hygrometric changes. 



Mushrooms and toadstools are numerous 

 before rain. 



The sun, moon, and stars indicate impend- 

 ing weather changes only so far as their ap- 

 pearance is affected by existing atmospheric 

 conditions. 



The moon and the weather 

 May change together ; 

 But change of the moon 

 Does not change the weather. 

 If we'd no moon at all, 

 And that may seem strange, 

 We still have the weather 

 That's subject to change. 



When the moon rises red and appears large, 

 with clouds, expect rain in twelve hours. 



Excessive twinkling of stars indicates heavy 

 dews, rain, or snow, or stormy weather in the 

 near future. 



A bad 3 7 ear comes in swimming. — French. 



Frost year, good } r ear. Snow year, good 

 year. 



A cow year, a sad year ; a bull year, a glad 

 year. — Dutch. 



Leap year was ne'er a good sheep year. — 

 {Scotland. ) 



