Weather Lore is folklore related to the prediction of weather. These rhymes, poems, and anecdotes were used as guides in determining whether the next day will bring fair or foul weather. Foreknowledge of tomorrow’s circumstances could mean the difference between success and failure for the farmer wanting to plant crops or for the merchant about to send out ships on trade.
March 1st is always noted with the adage, “March come in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” (or the reverse). English playwright John Fletcher may have pointed the way toward the saying in 1624 when he wrote, “I would chuse March, for I would come in like a Lion…But you’d go out like a Lamb when you went to hanging.”
There are many, many sayings and adages that have been passed down through the ages by our ancestors. Five that you may have or have not heard of are as follows”
1) A coming storm your shooting corns presage, And aches will throb, your hollow tooth will rage.
The most likely medical reason is that with a fall in atmospheric pressure, blood vessels dilate slightly in reaction. This has the effect of aggravating already-irritated nerves near corns, cavities, or arthritic joints.
2) When sounds travel far and wide, A stormy day will betide.
This piece of lore is true in summer but conditionally false in winter. Moisture-laden air is a better conductor of sound than dry air, so moist air carries sounds farther. If the air is very cold, the air is likely to be drier so sound wouldn’t travel as far.
3) A cow with its tail to the West makes the weather best, A cow with its tail to the East makes the weather least.
Apparently cows prefer not to have the wind blowing in their faces, and so typically stand with their backs to the wind. Since westerly winds typically mean arriving or continuing fair weather and easterly winds usually indicate arriving or continuing unsettled weather, this is as good a way as any of knowing what the weather will be up to for the next few hours.
4) When halo rings the moon or sun, rain’s approaching on the run.
A halo around the sun or moon is caused by the refraction of that body’s light by ice crystals at high altitude which is a precursor to moisture moving in at increasingly lower levels, and is a good indicator that an active weather system is on its way.
5) Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.
If the morning skies are red, it is because clear skies to the east permit the sun to light the undersides of moisture-bearing clouds coming in from the west. Conversely, in order to see red clouds in the evening, sunlight must have a clear path from the west in order to illuminate moisture-bearing clouds moving off to the east.
There are also specific days that are said to predict the upcoming weather. For example the weather on July 15th is said to predict what the rest of the summer will be like. If it is sunny and dry on July 15, the next 40 days will be the same. If it rains, look for rain the rest of summer.
Since Winter Storm Titan is predicting 3-5 inches of snow in our area and more south of us, I would safely say March is coming in like a lion….The good thing….it will go out like a lamb!
Think Spring!
~Cheryl Pastor, Social Media Specialist
